PRIME MINISTER

Ministers: Conduct

John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what questions the Cabinet Secretary asked of the Prime Minister in investigating the hon. Member for Bassetlaw's complaint of a potential breach of the Ministerial Code; when these discussions took place; and what was the medium of communication used;
	(2)  how long the Cabinet Secretary spent on his investigations into the hon. Member for Bassetlaw's complaint of a potential breach of the Ministerial Code by the Prime Minister; and whom the Cabinet Secretary interviewed in the course of his investigation.

David Cameron: These are matters for the Cabinet Secretary who I understand has written to the hon. Member on this issue.

Ministers: Conduct

John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister who is responsible under the Ministerial Code for investigating any complaints of a breach of the code by the Prime Minister; and with whom he has confirmed his understanding of the interpretation of the Code.

David Cameron: The Ministerial Code makes clear that Ministers are accountable to Parliament for their decisions and actions.

SCOTLAND

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions his Department has had with the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: I am in regular contact with the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment and with my ministerial colleagues in DEFRA on a range of issues of importance to Scotland. Last week I discussed a range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment including recent developments on EU reform of the common agricultural policy and the fisheries concordat.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost to the (a) public purse and (b) private sector of implementing Government policies on tackling climate change.

Gregory Barker: Energy and climate change policies are funded by a mixture of levies and general taxation. Levy-funded policies (such as the renewables obligation (RO), feed-in tariffs (FITs) and warm home discount (WHD)) place the obligation of financing the policies onto energy companies which is then passed onto the consumer. Estimates of how these levies impact the public finances were published in Budget 2011, see Tables C.3 and C.4 of:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_complete.pdf
	To help ensure that these policies achieve their objectives cost effectively and affordably the Government have introduced a framework to control levy funded spending by DECC. This framework forms part of the Government's public spending framework which Treasury has responsibility for.
	Spending through the renewable heat incentive (RHI) is funded from general taxation. The agreed limits for the RHI over the spending review period are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Renewable   heat incentive   (£ million) 
			 2011-12 56 
			 2012-13 133 
			 2013-14 251 
			 2014-15 424 
			 Source: DECC http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/What%20we%20do/UK%20 energy%20supply/Energy%20mix/Renewable%20energy/1691-qa-info-levy-funded-spending.pdf 
		
	
	The main other policies funded through general taxation are the Green Investment Bank which will have initial capitalisation of £3 billion and begin operation in 2012-13 which it is anticipated could leverage around a further £15 billion from the private sector, and the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) demonstration programme. At spending review 2010, the Government committed up to £l billion for the capital investment for the first CCS demonstration project. At Budget 2011, the Government also confirmed that they would fund their commitments to CCS demonstrations from general taxation.
	DECC published an assessment of the impact of climate change and energy polices on energy prices and bills for households and non-domestic consumers alongside the July 2010 Annual Energy Statement available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/price_bill_imp/pricebillimp.aspx
	In July 2011 DECC published provisional analysis on the impacts of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills faced by large energy intensive users available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/about-us/economics-social-research/2350-pro-ests-of-impacts-energy-and-prices.pdf
	An updated assessment of the impact of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills for households and businesses and bills will be published alongside the Annual Energy Statement in the autumn reflecting policy developments over the last year.

Departmental Manpower

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many officials in his Department worked on the draft of the national planning policy framework produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Charles Hendry: Four officials spent part of their time working with DCLG officials on this draft.

Departmental Manpower

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many officials in his Department worked on the draft of the national planning policy framework produced by the practitioners' advisory group.

Charles Hendry: None, though two officials met the practitioners advisory group at the group's request.

Electricity Generation

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total cost to the public purse is of all forms of subsidy for the development, construction and installation of each low carbon method of electricity generation in the last year for which figures are available.

Charles Hendry: The cost to the public purse for the development, construction and installation of low carbon electricity generation using the latest available figures are given in the following tables. These include the latest available figures for financial incentives provided by the Government to increase the deployment of renewable energy capacity, as well as research and development grants provided to developers of low carbon electricity generation and capital grants awarded to offshore wind, wave and tidal energy developers.
	
		
			 Financial incentives for renewable energy capacity 
			 Name of incentive Year Amount   (£) 
			 The renewables obligation(1) 2009-10(2) 1.1 billion 
			 Feed-in tariffs(3) 2010-11 10.7 million 
		
	
	
		
			 Research and development grants for renewable energy technologies in 2009-10  (4) 
			 Technology Amount (£ million) 
			 Solar 15.3 
			 Wind 9.2 
			 Marine, 7.5 
			 Biofuels 35.5 
			 Geothermal 4.1 
			 Hydro 0 
			 Unallocated 18.5 
			 Total 90.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Research and development grants for anaerobic digestion technology in 201-11 
			  £ million 
			 AD Demonstration Programme (5)1.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Capital grants provided in 2010-11 
			  £ million 
			 Offshore wind 10.6 
		
	
	
		
			 Wave and tidal 20.25 
			 Total 30.85 
		
	
	
		
			 Research and development grants for nuclear related technologies in 2009-10  (6) 
			 Technology Amount (£ million) 
			 Fission(7) 16.1 
			 Fusion(8) 18.9 
			 Total 35 
			 (1) The renewables obligation (RO) is currently the Government's main financial incentive for large scale renewable electricity, including wind power. (2) Figures for 2010-11 will be available following publication of Ofgem's annual report for the 2010-11 obligation year by April 2012. (3) Feed-in tariffs incentivise the deployment of small-scale low carbon electricity generation. They support solar photovoltaic, hydro, anaerobic digestion and wind projects up to 5 MW and microCHP installations of up to 2 kW. (4) Latest available figures. (5 )Approximately two-thirds of this (£0.9 million) would have been used for electricity generation. (6) Latest available figures. (7) This includes funding by the Research Councils and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. (8) Research Councils funding. 
		
	
	As the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), made clear in his written statement to the House on 18 October 2010, Official Report, columns 42-46WS, although there would be continuing support for activities such as research and development, there will be no public subsidy for new nuclear power stations.
	Research and development grants for carbon abatement technologies including carbon capture and storage in 2010-11
	£3.1 million was spent by DECC to support a range of R&D projects, including those funded by the Technology Strategy Board. There has been additional expenditure under the CCS demonstration programme which remains commercially confidential until the procurement has been completed.

Feed-in Tariffs: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people resident in (a) East Lancashire and (b) Pendle constituency who have participated in the (i) feed-in tariff and (ii) renewable heat incentive since his appointment.

Charles Hendry: Information about the feed-in tariffs (FITs) scheme from the FITs central register can be obtained only at the local authority level. Hence no information is available for East Lancashire as a whole. However, live data for all local authorities (including those in East Lancashire) is available on the Ofgem website and can be accessed at:
	https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Default.aspx
	The FITs quarterly statistics received by DECC from Ofgem are broken down by constituency, and showed at the end of June 2011 that there were 49 schemes in Pendle constituency, all at the domestic scale. In addition, live data for Pendle local authority on 13 September 2011 showed that there were 76 installations on that date, of which 74 were at domestic scale.
	There have been no participants in the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme as it is not yet open for applications. Subject to state aid approval, the Government intends that the RHI will open for applications from the non-domestic sector on 30 September 2011.

Microgeneration Certification Scheme

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many companies are registered as qualified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme in (a) Wales and (b) the UK.

Gregory Barker: The numbers of microgeneration installer companies registered as MCS certificated are:
	(a) 124 in Wales
	(b) 3,269 in the UK

Microgeneration Certification Scheme

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to ensure that smart meters will not expose customers to prolonged radio frequency microwave radiation.

Charles Hendry: As yet communications technology solutions have not been selected for the smart metering system. Both wired and wireless technologies exist that could be used and, for practical and technical reasons, both wireless and wired solutions will need to be utilised by installers during the roll out, depending on local circumstances.
	Where wireless technologies are used in deploying smart meters they will have to comply with relevant regulations, best practice and international standards as set out by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In 2009 the ICNIRP published an evidence review, and updated and reconfirmed its guidance. We are currently consulting on draft technical specifications for the smart metering equipment and on proposals to introduce licence conditions that will require suppliers to install smart metering equipment that meets the relevant ICNIRP guidance.

National Infrastructure Plan

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish his Department's submission to the National Infrastructure Plan.

Charles Hendry: The second National Infrastructure Plan, due for publication in the autumn, will provide the Government's overall strategic assessment of the challenges facing the country's infrastructure and the action the government is taking to respond, across sectors including energy. Individual departmental contributions to the plan will not be published separately.

Radioactive Materials

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has considered the potential effects on (a) sector skills and employment and (b) the future re-use of the UK's plutonium stockpile as MOX fuel of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's proposed closure of Sellafield MOX plant.

Charles Hendry: The decision to close the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) was an operational and commercial matter for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The Government were kept fully informed and as it was clear that closure was the only commercially viable option they endorsed the decision on value for money grounds.
	While the closure of SMP is regrettable, it should not detract from the fact that the renaissance of nuclear in the UK opens up new opportunities for Sellafield. The site continues to be the home to much of our nuclear skills, our nuclear expertise and many of our key facilities. It has also been identified as one of eight sites for a new nuclear power station.
	The NDA's decision on SMP has no connection with the separate consideration by the Government of the policy options for dealing with the UK's plutonium stockpile. We consulted earlier this year on our preliminary view that the best prospect of delivering a long-term solution for plutonium management will be by reusing the plutonium to make mixed oxide fuel. As set out in the consultation document SMP was never expected to be used for dealing with the UK stockpile of plutonium.
	We are currently reviewing the results of that consultation and expect to publish the outcome and next steps later this autumn. If, following the consultation, the Government were to decide to reuse plutonium as MOX fuel, in due course we would need to consider building a new MOX fabrication plant. Any such plant would need to take fully into account the lessons from SMP and from other MOX plants around the world.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Council Tax

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients there are of council tax benefit in each local authority area in England.

Steve Webb: A copy of the available information on CTB recipients by local authority has been placed in the Library.

Council Tax

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of recipients of council tax benefit of working age (a) were in employment, (b) were not in employment and (c) had a registered disability in (i) England and (ii) each local authority area on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The information as requested is not available. A copy of the available information on CTB recipients has been placed in the Library.
	A breakdown of CTB recipients by employment status and disabled status is only available for CTB recipients who are not also on a passported benefit (income support, jobseeker’s allowance (income-based), employment and support allowance (income based), or pension credit (guaranteed credit). Non-passported recipients represent around one third of all CTB claimants.
	The information provided contains numbers of CTB recipients rather than proportions. As employment status and disabled status can only be obtained for non passported recipients, presenting these numbers as proportions of the total CTB caseload would be misleading as the employment status and disabled status may well be different between the passported and non passported groups.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many rents for (a) shared, (b) one bedroom, (c) two bedroom, (d) three bedroom and (e) four bedroom accommodation were assessed as being at or below the 30th percentile in each broad rental market area in (i) June 2010 and (ii) June 2011;
	(2)  how many rents for (a) shared, (b) one bedroom, (c) two bedroom, (d) three bedroom and (e) four bedroom accommodation were assessed as being at or below the 30th percentile in each local authority area in Great Britain in (i) June 2010 and (ii) June 2011.

Steve Webb: The information is not available: the question refers to data on all private rented sector (PRS) rents which come from market evidence data (MED) collected by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and rent services in Scotland and Wales. The data consider a relatively small selection of properties and are used to generate local housing allowance rates for each broad rental market area (BRMA). However, it is not a comprehensive source of data on the number of rents that are below the 30th percentile of the local rent distribution.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households were receiving Housing Benefit Transitional Protection in each local authority area in Great Britain in June 2011.

Steve Webb: The information is not available.

Social Fund: Yorkshire and Humberside

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) England have received a (i) grant and (ii) loan from the Social Fund in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: The information available is in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of initial social fund loans and grants awards in Yorkshire and Humber and England 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber England 
			  Community care grants Loans Community care grants Loans 
			 2006-07 22,700 210,700 215,900 1,858,900 
			 2007-08 22,300 214,400 196,800 2,040,400 
			 2008-09 23,400 237,000 200,000 2,479,300 
			 2009-10 25,800 313,900 209,800 3,139,400 
			 2010-11 25,700 340,900 205,100 3,084,400 
			 Notes: 1. We are unable to provide the localised data provided for the years specified for technical reasons. 2. The information provided is based on Government Office Region for the years requested however from March 2011 due to the closure of Government Offices for the Regions closing they are referred to as Regions. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. 4. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, it does not include applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 5. If an applicant receives an initial award and this award is increased on first review in the same month as the initial award was made, then the Policy, Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS) does not count the initial award and the review award separately, but counts one award on the one application. However, if a first review award is made in a later month than the initial award, then PBMIS counts two awards on the one application. Similarly, if an initial or first review award is increased by the Independent Review Service, then all awards made in the same month on one application count as one award. However, if an initial award or any review award(s) on one application are made in different months, then PBMIS will count one award for each month in which an initial or review award was made. Because of this counting method, only the numbers of initial awards have been given. 6. Figures are for initial awards made, not the number of people who received an initial award. (Some people-received more than one initial award.)

Social Security Benefits: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in City of York Council area have moved off benefits and into work in the last 12 months.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations her Department has received opposing a cull of badgers; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 September 2011, Official Report, column 975W.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2011, Official Report, column 771W, on badgers, whether the costs to the public purse of the proposed cull referred to are per year or in respect of the total cost of the pilot.

James Paice: My previous answer of 8 September 2011, Official Report, column 771W, refers to costs for each area over a 10 year period, rather than costs per year.

Deerstalking

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on the number of people who have attained deerstalking level 1 proficiency in each region.

Richard Benyon: None. There is no requirement for the awarding body (Deer Management Qualifications Ltd), deer stalkers or course providers to report the award of level 1 deer stalking certificates to DEFRA. However, latest published statistics on the awarding body's website confirm that 16,189 people have completed the assessment and been awarded the certificate.

Fish: Catering

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what types of fish are served in her Department's canteens and associated facilities.

James Paice: Since 16 May 2011, DEFRA’s restaurant and catering services have been contracted to Eurest Services, which has served the following fish in DEFRA’s restaurants and canteens:
	Plaice
	Salmon
	Coley
	Cod
	Haddock
	Pangasius
	Mackerel
	Peeled prawns
	Tinned tuna

Fisheries: Quotas

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make an assessment of the compatibility of European Commission proposals on tradable fishing quotas with EU treaty provisions on property rights;
	(2)  if she will make an assessment of the effects of implementing European Commission proposals for tradable fishing quotas on coastal fishing communities.

Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister I will carry out an assessment of all elements of the European Commission's proposals on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. This will include the compatibility of the EU proposals for tradable fishing concessions with EU Treaty provisions on property rights and the potential impacts on coastal fishing communities.

Fishing Vessels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fishing vessels on the British Register were required to comply with the economic link requirement as part of the terms for entry onto the Register in the latest period for which figures are available.

Richard Benyon: All UK fishing vessels landing more than two tonnes of quota stocks in any one year must comply with the economic link by:
	(a) landing 50% of their catch into the UK;
	(b) employing crew at least 50% of whom are resident in UK coastal areas;
	(c) spending at least 50% of their operating expenditure on goods and services in the UK; or
	(d) other equivalent means, including combinations of the above.
	The number of vessels required to meet the above criteria is not recorded centrally. An exercise is carried out each year by UK fisheries administrations to assess whether or not vessels meet the economic link criteria through the level of their landings. Those that do not are then contacted to identify which of the other possible criteria they meet.

Fishing Vessels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the UK fixed quota allocation is held by dummy vessels for each UK fish producer organisation.

Richard Benyon: As at 1 January 2011, approximately 20% of UK fixed quota allocation units were held on fish producer organisations’ (FPO) dummy licences. The following table shows the breakdown for each FPO.
	
		
			 Fish producer organisation Percentage 
			 Aberdeen FPO 1.2 
			 Anglo Northern Irish FPO Ltd 0.4 
			 Anglo Scottish FPO Ltd 2.2 
			 Cornish FPO Ltd 1.0 
			 Eastern England FPO Ltd 0.8 
			 Fife FPO Ltd 0.1 
			 Fleetwood FPO Ltd 0.6 
			 The FPO Ltd 0.0 
			 Interfish 0.1 
			 Klondyke 0.0 
			 Lowestoft FPO Ltd 0.0 
			 Lunar Group 0.0 
			 Isle of Man Non-Sector 0.0 
			 North Atlantic FPO Ltd 0.0 
			 North East of Scotland FO Ltd 0.8 
			 North Sea FPO Ltd 0.5 
			 Northern Ireland FPO Ltd 1.7 
			 Northern Producers Organisation Ltd 0.5 
			 Orkney FPO Ltd 0.2 
			 Scottish FPO Ltd 5.9 
			 Shetland FPO Ltd 3.1 
			 South Western FPO Ltd 0.4 
			 Wales and West Coast FPO Ltd 0.0 
			 West of Scotland FPO Ltd 0.4 
			 All fish producer organisations 19.9

Forestry Commission: Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry of each individual transaction undertaken by the Forestry Commission using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

James Paice: Details of Government Procurement Card transactions by the Forestry Commission in England for 2008-09 and 2009-10 have been placed in the Library of the House. This includes date of transaction, amount, merchant details and category description. Level 3 or enhanced transaction details, which is the detailed transaction information passed from participating suppliers to the card issuer, are not held by the Forestry Commission.

Game: Birds

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will bring forward proposals to ban the mass production of birds for sport shooting; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what information her Department holds on the number of (a) pheasants and (b) partridges produced for sport shooting in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 12 September 2011, Official Report, columns 971-72W.

Livestock: Animal Welfare

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to improve the animal welfare of farmed animals since her appointment; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 September 2011, Official Report, columns 969-70W.

Recycling

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of waste collected in City of York was recycled in each year since 2003-04; what funding her Department provided to the City of York council to increase recycling rates in each year in that period; and what recent steps her Department has taken to encourage local authorities to increase waste recycling rates.

Richard Benyon: The proportion of household waste collected in the City of York which was recycled from 2003-04 to 2009-10 is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 2003-04 15.43 
			 2004-05 17.77 
			 2005-06 24.44 
			 2006-07 39.93 
			 2007-08 43.37 
			 2008-09 45.13 
			 2009-10 43.26 
		
	
	The proportion of all waste collected by City of York council (household and non-household) which was recycled over the same period is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 2003-04 19.01 
			 2004-05 22.09 
			 2005-06 25.71 
			 2006-07 39.36 
			 2007-08 42.28 
			 2008-09 43.69 
			 2009-10 41.83 
		
	
	DEFRA does not hold details of commercial and industrial waste at local authority level.
	From 2008-09 to 2010-11, the Department provided funding to upper tier local authorities outside London through the Waste Infrastructure Capital Grant to support investment in infrastructure, such as recycling and composting facilities, to boost recycling rates. During this time DEFRA provided the following amounts to the City of York council:
	
		
			 £ 
			 2008-09 359,837.71 
			 2009-10 361,122.65 
			 2010-11 133,485.73 
		
	
	DEFRA is encouraging local authorities to sign up to the new Recycling and Waste Services Commitment to improve services to residences. We have removed national targets to allow local authorities greater freedom to make local decisions, and are working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme and Improvement and Efficiency South East (one of nine regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships) to provide technical and procurement advice to local authorities.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Coroners and Justice Act 2009: Prosecutions

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Attorney-General how many people have been charged with offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 for holding someone in slavery or servitude or requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) records show that six prosecutions have been brought since the introduction, in April 2010, of the offence of holding someone in slavery, or servitude or requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
	The CPS’s records indicate the volume of offences, not defendants, prosecuted by the CPS. These data are not held by defendant or by outcomes.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions he has met (a) representatives of the drinks industry, (b) alcohol treatment providers and (c) alcohol-related charities since his appointment.

Anne Milton: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), has not met with representatives of the drinks industry or alcohol treatment providers since his appointment.
	The Secretary of State has met with an alcohol related charity on one occasion since his appointment.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 917W, on alcoholic drinks: misuse, for what reasons his Department uses the 2005 General Household Survey as the basis for information on alcohol consumption among adults rather than the General Lifestyle Survey 2009.

Anne Milton: The 2005 General Household Survey was the most current information available at the time the research into alcohol attributable fractions was undertaken by the North West Public Health Observatory.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 917W, on alcoholic drinks: misuse, what plans he has to update estimates of the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions using the latest available data on alcohol consumption.

Anne Milton: The North West Public Health Observatory periodically reviews the value of updating the methodology used to calculate alcohol-related hospital admissions using the latest evidence on harms from alcohol. Any changes can then be applied retrospectively to ensure comparability.

Cancer: Surgery

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of robotic radiosurgery; and what contribution he expects robotic radiosurgery to make to the Government's strategy for cancer treatment in the NHS.

Paul Burstow: The National Radiotherapy Implementation Group (NRIG) report, ‘Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Guidelines for Commissioners, Providers and Clinicians in England 2011’ made a comprehensive assessment of the role and opportunities for SBRT in cancer treatment. An assessment of the technology available for the delivery of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), including robotic systems, was also made in the report. A copy of the NRIG report has been placed in the Library.
	The report brought together all the existing evidence on SBRT and concluded that a small number of patients would benefit from this treatment. There are at least 20 radiotherapy centres across the country with the capability of delivering this treatment.
	Ensuring that all cancer patients receive the appropriate treatment delivered to a high standard is critical to improving cancer outcomes. It is now for the local national health service to take account of this guidance when considering whether to commission SBRT for a particular indication. As with all clinical decisions, these should be made locally on a case-by-case basis taking into account the individual circumstances of each patient.

Care Homes: Inspections

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the smallest care home is which was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in the last three years.

Paul Burstow: The following information has been provided by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
	The following tables show the name of each one bed care home, as the CQC has recorded it, which has been inspected or reviewed by the CQC and its predecessor the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) over the last three years, and the region it is located in.
	Inspections prior to 1 October 2010 were carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Reviews carried out after this date were carried out under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
	
		
			 Completed reviews of compliance carried out by the CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008  (1) 
			 Name Region 
			 Olive House London 
			 Time to Care North East 
			 Flat 1 South East 
			 Mrs Sarah Louise Vooght—Hill Park Road Residential Care Home South West 
			 63 West Park Road South West 
			 The Butts West Midlands 
			 Brian Hall—1 Ratcliffe Road West Midlands 
			 Margaret Jean Holton—5 Beacon Gardens West Midlands 
			 (1) October 2010 to 1 September 2011. 
		
	
	
		
			 Random or key inspections carried out by the CQC under the Care Standards Act 2000  (1) 
			 Name Region 
			 Ethel Road (7) South East 
			 16 Hill Park Road South West 
			 5 Beacon Gardens West Midlands 
			 18 Leafdown Close West Midlands 
			 Olcote West Midlands 
			 41 Beach Road North West 
			 15a Worsley Road South East 
			 71 The Fremnells Eastern 
			 110 Primley Park South West 
			 Danemere South East 
			 51a Chapel Park Road South East 
			 1 Springhead South West 
			 44 Monks Close Eastern 
			 362 Park Road East Midlands 
			 Autism Initiatives (85 Beatrice Street) North West 
			 Time-to-Care North East 
			 The Lodge South West 
			 1 The Cottages Yorkshire and Humberside 
			 Hollybush Villas North East 
			 3 Hainault Avenue Eastern 
			 Myddleton House North West 
			 Godwyne Hurst South East 
			 Hill View Care Home South East 
			 Fossdyke North East 
			 Hexthorpe House Yorkshire and Humberside 
			 Rowan—Innova House CLD East Midlands 
			 (1) 1 April 2009 to 30 September 2010. 
		
	
	
		
			 Random or key inspections carried out by the CSCI under the Care Standards Act 2000  (1) 
			 Name Region 
			 5 Beacon Gardens West Midlands 
			 Bowley Close, 1 London 
			 New Monterey North West 
			 Saxon House South East 
			 Glen Cottage South East 
			 Ethel Road (7) South East 
			 1 Empire Road South West 
			 10 Clifton Drive East Midlands 
			 The Butts West Midlands 
			 Barrington Road, 45a London 
			 82 Beagleswood Road South East 
			 Limekiln Farm South East 
			 Henbury View Road (Flat 19) South West 
			 Saxon House Eastern 
			 63 West Park Road South West 
			 Bath Road (4) South West 
			 Andover Close (31) South East 
			 134 Newtondale Yorkshire and Humberside 
			 Millpool Eastern 
			 44 Monks Close Eastern 
			 Olive House London 
			 Gunters Grove Farm South West 
			 (1) 1 September 2008 to 31 March 2009.

Food Standards Agency: Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry of each transaction undertaken by the Food Standards Agency using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Anne Milton: The information for 2008-09 and 2009-10 is held manually and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many foreign nationals owe (a) under £1,000 and (b) over £1,000 for NHS treatment which they have received.

Anne Milton: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the balance of outstanding payments was for each country under the European Health Insurance Card scheme in the latest period for which information is available.

Anne Milton: For claims submitted up to an including the financial year 2010-11, a total of £38,487,035.14 is outstanding. A breakdown, by country, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			 Austria 1,887,000 
			 Belgium 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Bulgaria 0 
			 Cyprus 197,000 
			 Czech Republic 64,000 
			 Finland 0 
			 France 3,078,000 
			 Germany 538,000 
			 Greece 1,957,000 
			 Hungary 0 
			 Iceland 0 
			 Ireland 17,322,000 
			 Italy 5,174,000 
			 Latvia 0 
			 Liechtenstein 0 
			 Lithuania 0 
			 Luxembourg 0 
			 Netherlands 170,000 
			 Norway 0 
			 Poland 15,000 
			 Portugal 2,472,000 
			 Romania 231,000 
			 Slovakia 1,000 
			 Slovenia 167,000 
			 Spain 5,214,000 
			 Sweden 0 
			 Switzerland 0 
			 Total 38,500,000 
			 Note: Country totals are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Overall totals are rounded to the nearest £100,000. Sub-totals may not add up to totals due to rounding. 
		
	
	The amounts paid relate to combined claims for temporary visitors (via European health insurance cards, workers temporarily posted abroad by their employer and referrals for treatment in other European economic area countries. Due to the nature of the claims system between member states, it is not currently possible to disaggregate the data consistently for all member states by either type of claim or type of treatment.

Mental Health Services

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many NHS admissions were made under Part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each NHS trust area in England in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the percentage change was in the number of NHS admissions under Part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each NHS trust area between 2005-06 and the latest year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many NHS admissions were made under Part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each primary care trust area in latest year for which figures are available;
	(4)  what the percentage change was in the number of NHS admissions under Part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each primary care trust area between 2004-05 and the latest year for which figures are available;
	(5)  how many admissions were made under Part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 per 1,000 head of population in each primary care trust area in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(6)  what the percentage change was in the number of admissions under Part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 per 1,000 head of population in each primary care trust area between 2004-05 and the latest year for which figures are available;
	(7)  how many NHS bed days were accounted for by people with a mental health related diagnosis in (a) each NHS trust area and (b) each primary care trust area in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(8)  how many NHS bed days per 1,000 head of population were accounted for by people with a mental health related diagnosis in each primary care trust in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(9)  how many patients were detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each primary care trust area (a) in total and (b) per 1,000 head of population in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(10)  what the percentage change was in the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 (a) nationally and (b) in each primary care trust area between 2004-05 and the latest date for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: Information on the number of NHS admissions made under part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each primary care trust (PCT) has never been collected centrally, as it is an aggregate return from providers.
	This means that it is not possible to calculate the percentage change between 2004 and a more recent period.
	Information on how many admissions were made under part II of the Mental Health Act 1983 per 1,000 head of population in each PCT has never been collected centrally, as it is an aggregate return from providers. This means that it is not possible to calculate the percentage change between 2004 and the latest period for which figures are available.
	Information on the number of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 is not collected.
	The rest of the information has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Sick Leave

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days of staff sickness absence there were in trust hospitals in England on average per employee in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. There is no standard definition for the number of working days of an average national health service employee due to the NHS work force being extremely diverse in terms of occupations compared with many other public sector employers.
	Information on the annual sickness absence percentage rate for the NHS and acute trusts in England, April 2009-March 2011 is in the following table.
	
		
			 Sickness absence rate, for the NHS and acute trusts in England, April 2009-March 2011 
			 Percentage 
			 April to March each year Total NHS Of which: Acute trusts 
			 2009-10 4.40 4.18 
			 2010-11 4.16 3.91 
			 Notes: 1. Sickness absence rate is calculated by dividing the sum total sickness absence days by the sum total days available per month for each member of staff. 2. While lower sickness absence rates, in general, indicate lower levels of sickness absence it should be noted that lower rates can also indicate under reporting of sickness absence. Data Quality: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care—Processed using data taken from the Electronic Staff Record Data Warehouse.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he has made on his proposal to end lifetime council house tenancies.

Grant Shapps: We are not ending tenancy for life. Landlords will have discretion to offer new lifetime tenancies, if they so choose. Our proposals will make the system in England much more flexible, allowing local authorities and social landlords to help the many people who are inadequately housed, or stuck on waiting lists, or overcrowded. There will be no change to the security and rights of existing social tenants.

Local Government: Sick Leave

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information he holds on the number of days of staff sickness absence in local authorities in England on average per employee in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Bob Neill: The information requested is not held centrally.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Children's Television Programming

Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she has had with broadcasters on improving the representation of women and girls in children's television programming.

Lynne Featherstone: The role of the media in the positive portrayal of women and girls is widely recognised by Government, media organisations and the bodies which regulate the media. However, it is a long-standing principle that the Government do not interfere in programme content or scheduling.

Unemployment

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the level of unemployment of young women; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Miller: I have been asked to reply.
	Tackling youth unemployment, for both young women and young men, continues to be a key priority for this Government.
	Government are supporting young people into work through investment in flexible, personalised employment support, apprenticeships, careers advice, work experience and training.
	Young people will also benefit from the radical reform of the welfare, skills and education system already under way.

Flexible Working

Jake Berry: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she plans to take to improve arrangements for flexible working.

Maria Miller: I have been asked to reply.
	We want people to be able to balance work and caring responsibilities and the Government are committed to removing barriers that can stop that happening. Over the summer we put forward our proposals to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees and we will respond to that consultation in due course.
	It is clear from our work with business that many are supportive of the principles of flexible working, showing that employers and employees alike recognise the benefits it brings.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department expects to publish its response to the consultation on air passenger duty.

Justine Greening: The Government will publish their response later this autumn.

Bank Services: Switzerland

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the amount of tax that would be owed to the Exchequer on the capital and interest of funds held by UK taxpayers in Switzerland if they were taxed at the UK marginal tax rate; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The UK is expected to receive billions of pounds under the agreement with Switzerland. It is impossible to quantify the amount of tax that would be owed by UK taxpayers in Switzerland if they were taxed at the UK marginal rate without further information.

Budgets: Equality

Jane Ellison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions his Department (a) conducted and (b) published an equality impact assessment of (i) the Budget and (ii) a Spending Review in the period from 1997 to 2010.

Justine Greening: The Government have not carried out retrospective assessments of Budgets or Spending Reviews in the period requested. However, on 20 October 2010 the Treasury published, for the first time, an overview of the impact of the Spending Review on groups protected by equalities legislation.
	Since coming into office, the Government have also driven improvements in tax policy making. The Government now publishes a “Tax Information and Impact Note” for all individual tax policy changes. These explicitly include an assessment of the equalities impact of each individual measure.
	The Budget is an overall statement of economic policy, containing a wide range of measures. It would not be possible to conduct an equality impact assessment over a broad range of measures.

Child Benefit

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when HM Revenue and Customs plans to publish the methodology for identifying those families with a higher rate taxpayer who will no longer be entitled to child benefit from January 2013; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The policy to withdraw child benefit from families containing a higher rate taxpayer will be introduced from January 2013 and will be administered through the tax system using existing systems and processes. Child benefit will be withdrawn from families where the claimant, or their partner (with whom they are living) is a higher rate taxpayer. The tax status of anyone else in a household would be irrelevant. It will be the responsibility of the higher rate taxpayer to inform HMRC whether their household is in receipt of child benefit. Further details of the changes to child benefit will be announced in due course.

Departmental Manpower

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) special advisers and (b) press officers were employed by his Department between (i) November 1999 and June 2001, (ii) May 2002 and June 2007 and (iii) June 2007 and January 2008; and what the cost to the public purse was in (A) cash and (B) real terms of such appointments.

Justine Greening: Information on the number of special advisers and press officers that were employed for the periods specified in this request could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, HM Treasury's resource and accounts include details on annual costs for special advisers since 1999, and numbers of special advisers since 2004. These are available online at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407010852/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/dep_perf_reports_index.htm

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2010-11.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury's spending on newspapers and periodicals in previous years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 62,349 
			 2009-10 119,000 
			 2008-09 199,000 
			 2007-08 142,000 
			 2006-07 109,000 
		
	
	Treasury's corporate policy is that newspapers and periodicals can only be ordered where there is a valid business need. These requirements must be approved by a Deputy Director before any orders are placed.

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department have been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since the website's inception.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury comply with the Government's transparency guidance on the publication of opportunities, tenders and contracts awarded over £10,000 in value on the Contracts Finder website.
	Departmental performance can be seen in the published document at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/transparency-progress-reports
	Up-to-date data (i.e. inclusive of contracts published in August 2011) will be reported by the Cabinet Office in September 2011.

Departmental Procurement

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible used to estimate savings to the public purse made in respect of its procurement and purchasing since May 2010.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 8 September 2011, Official Report, column 801W.
	Table 6.D of the HM Treasury Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11 (HC 984) reports that non-pay Gross Admin Costs for the Treasury Group (including the Office for Budget Responsibility) reduced from £128 million in 2009-10 to £85 million in 2010-11. Figures in this report are prepared in accordance with HM Treasury's Financial Reporting Manual for central Government Departments and associated Treasury resource accounting and budgeting guidance.
	The Royal Mint Advisory Committee has not incurred any public expenditure since becoming an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body of HM Treasury in January 2010.

Equitable Life Payment Scheme

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Equitable Life Payment Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 12 September 2011
	The scheme began making payments as planned on 30 June and hundreds of payments have been paid to date. Payment volumes will continue to be ramped up over the coming months as the scheme's complex payment processes are refined further.
	The performance of the scheme will be closely monitored to ensure it is meeting its objectives and regular progress reports published.

Financial Institutions

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his policy is on the international regulation of positions held by financial institutions in commodity markets via (a) hedge funds and (b) index funds;
	(2)  what his policy is on the limiting of positions held by financial institutions in commodity markets via (a) hedge funds and (b) index funds;
	(3)  what his policy is on the mandatory reporting of swaps transactions conducted by financial institutions in commodity markets via (a) hedge funds and (b) index funds;
	(4)  what discussions his Department has had with its international counterparts on the reporting of swaps transactions conducted by financial institutions in commodity markets via (a) hedge funds and (b) index funds;
	(5)  what studies his Department has conducted into links between the behaviour of index funds and monthly spikes in commodity prices in markets traded in the UK;
	(6)  if he will make an assessment of the effect of index funds on levels of liquidity within commodity markets traded in the UK in each of the last four financial years.

Mark Hoban: The Government closely monitors, relevant research on the role of financial market activity on commodity markets and prices.
	It is important to note that trading in commodities markets plays an important role in providing liquidity (the volume of trades being made in a market) in these markets and that liquidity is essential to the effective functioning of these markets. Against the backdrop of climate change, and the possibility that international agricultural prices may become more volatile over time, the role of agricultural futures and options markets, and the liquidity they rely on, become more important. Liquid, well functioning markets bring important benefits to commodity producers, processors and traders, sending important price signals and allowing them to hedge price risks, and as such benefit end consumers as well.
	The Government strongly supports the G20 commitment to improve the regulation, functioning, and transparency of financial and commodity markets and the UK authorities are playing a full role towards meeting this objective—working with partners in the EU and internationally. The Government supports greater transparency in commodities derivative markets, including the reporting of positions by trader type, especially where it enables data to be compared across different markets allowing regulators to analyse, interpret and act where necessary.
	On the regulation, and limiting of positions in commodity markets, the Government supports strong regulatory oversight powers including through the application of an active and formalised position management regime. A position management regime means that the regulator actively monitors what is happening in the market. If it is concerned about any activity, the regulator can intervene with those carrying out the activity, requiring them to explain their actions or, if necessary, to wind down their position in the market. The authority to set position limits would appropriately be a part of a position management regime, though not the leading element. Position limits by their nature are inflexible tools, and the Government is sceptical that such measures would be effective in reducing the presence of a particular participant type in the market, or would be an effective tool to address price volatility. Indeed, position limits may ultimately reduce liquidity, which could pose serious risks to those markets and could increase price volatility.

Households: Children

Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households with (a) one or two children, (b) three or four children, (c) four or five children and (d) six children or more there are in (i) Leeds and (ii) the UK.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many households with (a) one or two children, (b) three or four children, (c) four or five children and (d) six children or more there are in (i) Leeds arid (ii) the UK. (71907)
	The number and type of households in the UK can be estimated using the Annual Population Survey. Estimates are provided for households with dependent children. Dependent children are those living with their parent(s) and either (a) aged under 16, or (b) aged 16 to 18 in full-time education, excluding children aged 16 to 18 who have a spouse, partner or child living in the household.
	Data are shown for Leeds metropolitan borough and the UK in 2010. Because the estimates of households with six more dependent children in Leeds are not sufficiently robust, estimates are shown for households with (a) one or two children, (b) three or four children, and (c) five or more children. The estimates for the UK are shown on the same basis.
	
		
			 Households in the UK and Leeds by the number of dependent children in the household, 2010 
			 thousands 
			 Number of dependent children UK Leeds 
			 One or two 6,499 95 
			 Three or four 1,077 13 
			 Five or more 76 1 
			 All households with dependent children 7,652 108 
		
	
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the Annual Population Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty and are therefore presented rounded to the nearest thousand. The totals may not sum exactly due to rounding.

Income Tax: Tax Yields

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the monetary value was of the tax receipts for each income tax band in (a) 2000 and (b) each year since 2005;
	(2)  how many people paid income tax at each tax band in (a) 2000 and (b) each year since 2005.

David Gauke: The estimated number of taxpayers liable for income tax by taxpayer marginal rate can be found in Table 2.1 “Number of individual income taxpayers”.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/menu.htm#liabilities
	Estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) for 2000-01 to 2007-08. Estimates for 2008-09 onwards are based upon the 2007-08 SPI projected using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
	A breakdown of income tax receipts by income tax band is not available.

Inflation: Low Incomes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effects of inflation on people with low and fixed incomes in the comprehensive spending review period.

Justine Greening: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for the measurement of consumer prices inflation. The ONS does not publish estimates of inflation for people with low or fixed incomes. The Government have taken action to support the most vulnerable at a time of rising costs of living including cutting fuel duty, raising the personal allowance and protecting key benefits for pensioners.

Mass Media

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse was of his Department's national media coverage evaluations in each month between (a) November 1999 and June 2001, (b) May 2002 and June 2007 and (c) June 2007 and January 2008.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury did not conduct any national media cover evaluations in the periods specified.

Public Sector Debt

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the national debt was in May 2010 and what it is expected to be in May 2015 (a) in sterling and (b) as a proportion of gross domestic product.

Justine Greening: In May 2010, public sector net debt (excluding the temporary effect of the financial interventions) was £778.7 billion, or 53.7% of GDP. The Office of Budget Responsibility's March Economic and fiscal outlook estimates that PSND will reach £1,314 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2014-15, equivalent to 70.5% of GDP.

Taxis

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on taxis in 2010-11.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury's spend on taxis in previous years is set out in the table as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 97,875 
			 2009-10 189,000 
			 2008-09 219,000 
			 2007-08 216,000 
			 2006-07 188,000

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments: EU Law

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether in transposing EU directive 2010/63/EU into UK law the provisions of the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 will be (a) retained as minimum standards and (b) strengthened.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 9 September 2011
	Article 2 to Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes allows member states to retain stricter national provisions in force on 9 November 2010. This is provided such measures are not used to inhibit the free market by prohibiting or impeding the supply or use of animals from another member state applying the minimum standards set out in the directive, or the placing on the market of products developed with the use of such animals.
	The public consultation on the transposition of European Directive 2010/63/EU which closed on 5 September 2011 invited views on the use of Article 2 in transposing the directive into UK legislation. Responses to the consultation will be carefully considered before decisions are taken on how to proceed with regard to this issue.

Animal Welfare: Standards

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to safeguard animal welfare standards in laboratories.

Lynne Featherstone: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires high standards of welfare for all animals used in regulated procedures. Unless a specific exemption is granted, the animals must be housed and cared for in accordance with the standards which are laid down in the published Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and two Codes of Practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures.
	These exist to ensure good husbandry and to safeguard animal welfare. The guidelines represent a consensus of views obtained not only from scientists and others working in academic and industrial institutions but also from societies and associations that have a direct interest in terms of animal welfare. These can be accessed through the Home Office website.
	The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate closely monitors compliance with these requirements.

Asylum

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for the reform of the asylum system; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 9 September 2011
	Reform of the asylum system has already begun, through our Asylum Improvement Project.
	We have already seen improvement outcomes from this project. We have scrapped the system which encouraged case owners to concentrate on files that were easy to resolve and discouraged them from tackling older cases and have introduced a new performance framework consisting of a wide range of performance indicators which will help us to monitor the overall health of the asylum system.
	The project published its one-year-on progress report in May 2011. The report can be found on the UK Border Agency website.
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/reports/asylum-improvement-project/

Entry Clearances: Diplomatic Service

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many diplomatic visas have been granted for staff at the embassies of (a) Denmark, (b) El Salvador, (c) Equatorial Guinea, (d) Eritrea, (e) Estonia, (f) Ethiopia, (g) Finland, (h) France, (i) Gabon, (j) Georgia, (k) Germany, (l) Greece, (m) Guatemala, (n) Guinea, (o) Guyana, (p) the Holy See, (q) Honduras, (r) Hungary, (s) Iceland, (t) Indonesia, (u) Iran, (v) Iraq, (w) Ireland, (x) Israel and (y) Italy in the last five years;
	(2)  how many diplomatic visas have been granted for staff at the embassies of (a) Afghanistan, (b) Albania, (c) Algeria, (d) Angola, (e) Argentina, (f) Armenia, (g) Austria, (h) Belgium, (i) Bolivia, (j) Bosnia and Herzegovina, (k) Brazil, (l) Bulgaria, (m) Burma, (n) Burundi, (o) Cambodia, (p) Cameroon, (q) Chile, (r) China, (s) Colombia, (t) The Democratic Republic of Congo, (u) Costa Rica, (v) Cote d'Ivoire, (w) Croatia, (x) Cuba and (y) Czech Republic in the last five years;
	(3)  how many diplomatic visas have been granted for staff at the embassies of (a) Japan, (b) Jordan, (c) Kuwait, (d) Kyrgyzstan, (e) Laos, (f) Latvia, (g) Lebanon, (h) Liberia, (i) Lithuania, (j) Luxembourg, (k) Macedonia, (l) Mexico, (m) Moldova, (n) Monaco, (o) Mongolia, (p) Morocco, (q) Nepal, (r) Netherlands, (s) Nicaragua, (t) Democratic People's Republic of Korea, (u) Norway and (v) Oman in the last five years;
	(4)  how many diplomatic visas have been granted for staff at the embassies of (a) Panama, (b) Paraguay, (c) Peru, (d) Philippines, (e) Poland, (f) Portugal, (g) Qatar, (h) Romania, (i) Saudi Arabia, (j) Senegal, (k) Slovak Republic, (l) Serbia, (m) Republic of Kosovo, (n) Slovenia, (o) Spain, (p) Sudan, (q) Sweden and (r) Switzerland in the last five years;
	(5)  how many diplomatic visas have been granted for staff at the embassies of (a) Taiwan, (b) Tajikistan, (c) Thailand, (d) Tunisia, (e) Turkey, (f) Turkmenistan, (g) USA, (h) Uruguay, (i) Uzbekistan, (j) Venezuela, (k) Vietnam, (l) Yemen and (m) Zimbabwe in the last five years;
	(6)  how many diplomatic visas have been granted for staff at the high commissions of (a) Antigua and Barbuda, (b) Australia, (c) Bahamas, (d) Bangladesh, (e) Barbados, (f) Botswana, (g) Brunei, (h) Cameroon, (i) Canada, (j) Cyprus, (k) Dominica, (l) Fiji, (m) Gambia, (n) Ghana, (o) Grenada, (p) Guyana, (q) India, (r) Jamaica, (s) Kiribati, (t) Lesotho, (u) Malawi, (v) Malaysia, (w) Malta, (x) Mauritius and (y) Mozambique in the last five years;
	(7)  how many diplomatic visas have been granted for staff at the high commissions of (a) Namibia, (b) New Zealand, (c) Nigeria, (d) Pakistan, (e) Papua New Guinea, (f) Rwanda, (g) Saint Christopher and Nevis, (h) Saint Lucia, (i) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, (j) Sierra Leone, (k) Singapore, (l) Sri Lanka, (m) Swaziland, (n) Tanzania, (o) Tonga, (p) Trinidad and Tobago, (q) Uganda and (r) Zambia in the last five years.

Damian Green: The number of diplomatic visas issued by nationality in the last five years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Nationality 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total 
			 Afghanistan 16 20 13 21 22 92 
			 Albania 28 26 29 11 19 113 
			 Algeria 22 29 63 42 43 199 
			 Angola 12 30 10 15 10 77 
			 Argentina 5 1 5 5 — 16 
			 Armenia 12 5 10 7 13 47 
			 Australia 18 22 21 44 40 145 
			 Austria — — — — 1 1 
			 Azerbaijan 9 24 11 7 8 59 
			 Bahrain 3 8 10 7 11 39 
			 Bangladesh 33 67 57 35 44 236 
			 Barbados 4 7 5 2 — 18 
			 Belarus 24 11 11 13 16 75 
		
	
	
		
			 Belgium — — — — 1 1 
			 Belize — — 2 — — 2 
			 Benin — 1 — 4 2 7 
			 Bhutan — — — 4 2 6 
			 Bolivia 5 4 — 10 1 20 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13 6 6 13 5 43 
			 Botswana 6 2 2 1 4 15 
			 Brazil 28 25 19 28 20 120 
			 Brunei 55 49 32 8 21 165 
			 Bulgaria 27 — — — — 27 
			 Burkina 3 6 3 3 13 28 
			 Burma(Myanmar) 5 17 8 12 1 43 
			 Burundi 1 1 — 1 — 3 
			 Cambodia — 2 2 4 5 13 
			 Cameroon 43 20 31 27 29 150 
			 Canada 53 21 25 42 64 205 
			 Cape Verde — — — 1 1 2 
			 Central African Republic 1 1 — 1 1 4 
			 Chad 1 — — — 3 4 
			 Chile 26 19 15 41 40 141 
			 China 80 116 8 20 12 236 
			 Colombia 44 61 28 58 35 226 
			 Congo 1 1 1 6 6 15 
			 Costa Rica — — — — — — 
			 Croatia 8 2 3 2 4 19 
			 Cuba — 59 43 24 20 146 
			 Democratic Republic of Congo 17 43 17 22 2 101 
			 Djibouti — 4 — 2 3 9 
			 Dominica — — 1 — — 1 
			 Dominican Republic 5 11 10 5 3 34 
			 Ecuador 3 9 7 7 13 39 
			 Egypt 76 153 148 124 114 615 
			 El Salvador 1 1 — — — 2 
			 Equatorial Guinea 5 — 6 2 5 18 
			 Eritrea 1 11 1 1 1 15 
			 Ethiopia 11 40 25 7 23 106 
			 Fiji 8 6 4 3 3 24 
			 Gabon 20 3 26 12 — 61 
			 Gambia 18 26 11 28 55 138 
			 Georgia 10 15 11 10 10 56 
			 Germany — — 1 — 1 2 
			 Ghana 40 56 67 97 56 316 
			 Guatemala 1 2 — — 3 6 
			 Guinea 18 21 7 16 6 68 
			 Guinea-Bissau — — 1 — 1 2 
			 Guyana 5 7 5 2 — 19 
			 Honduras 1 — — — — 1 
			 Hong Kong 3 — 2 2 — 7 
			 India 117 117 103 123 111 571 
			 Indonesia 34 17 35 35 39 160 
			 Iran 73 98 122 43 28 364 
			 Iraq 21 56 74 59 24 234 
			 Israel — 1 — 1 1 3 
			 Italy — 1 — — 1 2 
			 Ivory Coast 24 43 23 22 32 144 
			 Jamaica 5 14 16 36 30 101 
			 Japan 63 34 65 61 53 276 
			 Jordan 26 52 62 69 63 272 
			 Kazakhstan 17 27 49 31 73 197 
		
	
	
		
			 Kenya 24 21 45 38 34 162 
			 Korea (North) 2 1 3 2 4 12 
			 Kosovo — — — 11 1 12 
			 Kuwait 68 73 95 119 104 459 
			 Kyrgyzstan 6 6 2 11 8 33 
			 Laos 1 2 — 4 1 8 
			 Lebanon 4 4 6 7 2 23 
			 Lesotho 3 2 5 9 6 25 
			 Liberia 3 20 8 9 8 48 
			 Libya 39 38 87 39 31 234 
			 Macedonia 1 5 11 17 7 41 
			 Madagascar 5 9 4 7 1 26 
			 Malawi 17 11 13 4 13 58 
			 Malaysia 44 44 23 29 23 163 
			 Maldives 1 5 7 7 — 20 
			 Mali — 3 4 2 7 16 
			 Mauritania 8 1 2 — 2 13 
			 Mauritius 6 1 5 — — 12 
			 Mexico 14 8 17 12 5 56 
			 Moldova — 8 16 10 18 52 
			 Monaco — 1 — — — 1 
			 Mongolia 9 12 16 4 31 72 
			 Montenegro — — 3 4 7 14 
			 Morocco 12 27 35 55 24 153 
			 Mozambique 6 8 21 15 6 56 
			 Namibia 12 6 — 2 5 25 
			 Nepal 6 12 10 5 6 39 
			 New Zealand 26 19 21 13 15 94 
			 Niger — — 1 2 1 4 
			 Nigeria 58 99 91 99 129 476 
			 Oman 24 40 46 47 36 193 
			 Pakistan 75 147 110 117 100 549 
			 Palestinian Authority — 1 1 1 — 3 
			 Panama — — — 3 — 3 
			 Papua New Guinea 4 — 3 14 1 22 
			 Peru 16 26 14 9 9 74 
			 Philippines 27 152 57 166 34 436 
			 Portugal — — — — 1 1 
			 Qatar 12 20 17 11 28 88 
			 Romania 20 1 1 — — 22 
			 Russia 338 111 136 197 35 817 
			 Rwanda 5 8 12 3 10 38 
			 Saudi Arabia 233 212 305 335 220 1,305 
			 Senegal 5 19 6 18 19 67 
			 Serbia — — 3 11 15 29 
			 Seychelles — — — — 4 4 
			 Sierra Leone 21 27 40 24 4 116 
			 Singapore 11 6 11 9 13 50 
			 Slovakia — — 1 — — 1 
			 Somalia — — 2 1 2 5 
			 South Africa — 3 9 70 100 182 
			 South Korea 33 36 30 52 24 175 
			 Spain — 1 — — — 1 
			 Sri Lanka 9 29 69 29 18 154 
			 St Kitts and Nevis 1 — — — — 1 
			 St Lucia — 1 — — — 1 
			 Sudan 39 47 47 73 50 256 
			 Surinam — — 2 — — 2 
			 Swaziland — — — 6 7 13 
			 Syria 12 25 7 23 11 78 
			 Tajikistan 10 1 10 8 6 35 
		
	
	
		
			 Tanzania 48 12 20 23 16 119 
			 Thailand 22 38 22 22 36 140 
			 Togo — — 1 — 5 6 
			 Tonga 5 1 — 2 — 8 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 10 2 1 3 — 16 
			 Tunisia 42 31 22 26 23 144 
			 Turkey 54 67 69 50 67 307 
			 Turkmenistan 2 9 9 10 — 30 
			 Uganda 17 12 11 14 18 72 
			 Ukraine 32 35 67 50 37 221 
			 United Arab Emirates 154 122 56 130 71 533 
			 United Nations — — — 1 — 1 
			 United States 30 66 66 73 191 426 
			 Uruguay — 1 1 2 2 6 
			 Uzbekistan 12 7 12 21 8 60 
			 Venezuela 2 5 19 9 2 37 
			 Vietnam 15 21 23 34 12 105 
			 Yemen 11 36 29 25 11 112 
			 Yugoslavia 21 24 26 13 — 84 
			 Zambia 48 70 30 46 12 206 
			 Zimbabwe 27 31 19 25 6 108

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason private colleges which run courses validated by a university are subject to an additional review under tier 4 arrangements; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 8 September 2011
	Under Tier 4 of the points based system (PBS) we have seen that the level of compliance with PBS obligations has been closely aligned to the type of institution, with higher rates of abuse found in the privately funded sector. We are moving to a system of more rigorous inspection to be carried out by the independent bodies that have previously inspected the sectors with the highest levels of compliance.
	University validation is limited to particular courses and in many cases does not cover the majority of courses offered by a college, and is therefore insufficient for Tier 4 purposes.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were accepted for consideration as victims of trafficking by the National Referral Mechanism but were subsequently not pursued because the person was the victim of abusive practices but was not trafficked in the latest period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: During the first 24 months of the National Referral Mechanism's operation to 31 March 2011, competent authority decision makers found reasonable grounds for believing trafficking had occurred in 895 cases. This is 67% of the cases referred where there has been a decision made. A further 450 cases (33%) did not meet the reasonable grounds threshold.
	A competent authority will assess a case according to the definition of trafficking given in the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. They are not responsible for assessing whether a person is a victim of other abusive practices or crimes.
	Criminal allegations may be investigated by the police and wider protection issues are considered by the UK Border Agency.

Offenders

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 27 July 2011, Official Report, column 908W, on first offenders, how many people given a custodial sentence for a first offence of a non-violent and non-sexual nature were sentenced to a prison term of less than one year in each year since 2005.

Crispin Blunt: I have been asked to reply.
	The table gives figures for the total number of offenders who were convicted for a first offence of a non-violent or non-sexual nature and given an immediate custodial sentence, from the 12 month period ending March 2006 to the 12 month period ending March 2011. These figures have been taken from the dataset used for the production of Table Q7m and Table Q7n of ‘Criminal Justice Statistics, Quarterly Update to March 2011' which was published on 25 August 2011 and can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/criminal-justice/criminal-justice-statistics.htm
	The table provides an update of the figures provided in the answer of 27 July 2011, Official Report, column 908W, as well as providing additional figures for offenders receiving custodial sentences of less than 12 months.
	
		
			 Number of offenders who were convicted and sentenced to immediate custody for a first offence of a non-violent or non-sexual nature in England and Wales, 12 months ending March 2006 to 12 months ending March 2011, indictable offences only  (1) 
			  First time offenders sentenced for a first offence of a non-violent or non-sexual nature 
			  Immediate custody Immediate custodial sentences of less than 12 months in 
			 Sentenced in 12 months ending March All Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 2006 27,420 6,456 23.5 3,436 12.5 
			 2007 25,415 6,165 24.3 3,223 12.7 
			 2008 25,636 7,247 28.3 3,992 15.6 
			 2009 25,370 7,148 28.2 3,491 13.8 
			 2010 25,322 6,766 26.7 3,232 12.8 
			 2011 25,247 5,993 23.7 2,676 10.6 
			 (1) Including indictable and trial either ways offences. Not  es: The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Overseas Students: Employment

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason overseas students studying at independent colleges are prohibited from undertaking paid work while studying; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 8 September 2011
	Under Tier 4 of the points based system (PBS) we have seen that the level of compliance with PBS obligations has been closely aligned to the type of institution, with higher rates of abuse found in the privately funded sector. That is why in July we restricted the right to work to students studying at universities and publicly funded colleges.
	It is entirely appropriate to afford greater privileges in areas of the sector with a better track record of both compliance with their sponsor duties and recruitment of international students who are more likely to comply with the terms of their leave.

Overseas Students: Religion

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with colleges which provide religious education on changes to the Tier 4 accreditation process.

Damian Green: The Government's fundamental reforms of student visas will tighten up the system, tackle abuse and ensure we continue to attract the brightest and the best students from across the world. We are moving to a system of more rigorous inspection of those privately funded institutions that sponsor international students, carried out by independent bodies that already inspect the sectors with the highest levels of compliance. There has been a significant amount of correspondence about these changes and a number of discussions at official level with representatives of colleges that provide religious education.

Visas

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received from professional bodies regarding the changes to Tier 1 and 2 visas.

Damian Green: We have received no representations from professional bodies regarding the changes to Tier 1 and Tier 2 since the public consultation in 2010, expect for discussions with representatives of the legal profession.

DEFENCE

Adam Werritty

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times he has met Adam Werritty (a) in total and (b) in his Department's main building since May 2010.

Liam Fox: holding answer 13 September 2011
	I have met Mr Werritty 14 times at the Ministry of Defence Main Building over the last 16 months but not in an official capacity.

Adam Werritty

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions Adam Werritty has travelled with him on overseas visits since May 2010.

Liam Fox: holding answer 13 September 2011
	Mr Werritty is not an employee of the Ministry of Defence and has, therefore, not travelled with me on any official overseas visits.

Armed Forces: Housing

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the number of empty service family quarters.

Andrew Robathan: As at 1 September 2011 there were 6,245 void service family accommodation (SFA) properties in the UK, representing 12.72% of housing stock.
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) will always need to maintain a management margin of empty properties in order to ensure that homes are available for entitled families when required. Further properties are held empty to allow major upgrade work to take place, or pending bulk moves of personnel or disposal action. The MOD is committed to reducing the number of void SFA properties to a target management margin of 10% of total stock.

Armed Forces: Housing

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on upgrading service personnel accommodation in each month since May 2010.

Andrew Robathan: The service family accommodation (SFA) upgrade programme targets those properties in the greatest need and upgrades them to the highest standard for condition (SfC). Other improvement activities, such as new kitchen and bathroom programmes, may also have the effect of upgrading properties to the highest SfC, however it is not possible to separately identify such expenditure.
	The Ministry of Defence upgraded 898 SFA to the highest SfC in financial year 2010-11 and aims to upgrade 800 this financial year subject to funding. The cost of the SFA upgrade programme since May 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 May 2010 4.9 
			 June 2010 3.6 
			 July 2010 3.7 
		
	
	
		
			 August 2010 1.6 
			 September 2010 2.1 
			 October 2010 2.5 
			 November 2010 2.1 
			 December 2010 2.2 
			 January 2011 6.1 
			 February 2011 4.7 
			 March 2011 6.1 
			 April 2011 1.6 
			 May 2011 4.9 
			 June 2011 5.4 
			 July 2011 2.8 
		
	
	The single living accommodation (SLA) upgrade programme is being delivered through various initiatives across the Department, including private finance initiative projects where SLA improvements are only one element of the work, therefore exact expenditure by month cannot be separately identified without disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many homes are provided for service personnel and their families in City of York constituency; and how many have been provided in each year since 1994.

Andrew Robathan: There are currently 147 service family accommodation (SFA) properties within the City of York constituency.
	A total of 89 SFA properties in the City of York constituency have been disposed of since 1996. Records prior to this date are no longer available.
	
		
			  SFA disposals 
			 2000 1 
			 2001 57 
			 2002 30 
			 2005 1 
			 Total 89

Armed Forces: Investigations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what investigation his Department conducted into an incident on 15 November 2006 in Helmand Province in Afghanistan in which a Royal Marines Commando patrol reportedly fired warning shots at a white Hilux vehicle, resulting in the death of two civilians and two civilians being wounded; when that investigation was conducted, which part of his Department conducted that investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of that investigation;
	(2)  what investigation his Department conducted into allegations relating to the conduct of Coldstream Guards in Afghanistan in October and November 2007; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted this investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(3)  what investigation his Department conducted into an incident on 6 November 2007 in Kabul in which a son of an Afghan general was reportedly killed by a warning shot from an unidentified UK company; when this investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(4)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 25 October 2007 in Kabul, in which a vehicle reportedly failed to stop for an unidentified patrol and a warning shot was reportedly fired by a British soldier; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(5)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 21 October 2007 in Kabul, in which an unidentified British vehicle with a gunner on top reportedly wounded three civilian interpreters; when this investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(6)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 4 October 2007 in Kabul, in which British soldiers reportedly wounded a non-combatant with a warning shot; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(7)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 10 November 2009 in Helmand province in which a patrol of 1 Company Coldstream Guards reportedly killed a driver who failed to stop; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(8)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on (1) 30 September 2009 in Helmand province, in which a platoon from B Company, 4th Battalion The Rifles, called in an air strike; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(9)  28 May 2009 in Helmand province, in which a patrol from A Company, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, reportedly shot at a car; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(10)  19 May 2009 in Helmand province, in which Gurkhas mentoring a police unit reportedly called in a Harrier air strike after an ambush; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(11)  22 October 2008 in Helmand province, in which a soldier in a British squad mentoring the Afghan army reportedly killed a motorcyclist; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(12)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 14 October 2008 in Helmand province, in which Y Company 45 Commando Royal Marines reportedly hit a motorcyclist at a roadblock; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(13)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 12 March 2008 in Helmand province, in which ambushed troops reportedly called in gunships after a soldier was wounded; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(14)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 19 November 2008 in Helmand province in which soldiers from J Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, reportedly fired warning shots at a vehicle approaching a convoy; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(15)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 26 March 2009 in Helmand province in which W Company, 45 Commando Royal Marines, reportedly shot and wounded a motorcyclist observing the patrol; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(16)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 3 January 2009 in Helmand province in which British mentors with the Afghan army allegedly fired a warning rifle shot at a suspicious person; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(17)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 19 January 2009 in Helmand province in which Y Company, 45 Commando Royal Marines, called in a Reaper drone to launch a missile on alleged Taliban; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(18)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 27 January 2009 in Helmand province in which W Company, 45 Commando Royal Marines, reportedly shot at two people watching the patrol; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(19)  what investigation his Department has conducted into the incident on 4 December 2008 in Helmand province in which W Company, 45 Commando Royal Marines, reportedly shot and wounded a man; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(20)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 24 December 2009 in Helmand province in which L Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, reportedly shot at an approaching vehicle; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(21)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 30 December 2009 in Helmand province in which W Company, 45 Command Royal Marines, reportedly fired a warning shot at a white van; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(22)  what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 29 November 2008 in Helmand province in which a police patrol mentored by UK troops reportedly shot at a vehicle driven by another Afghan policeman; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation.

Liam Fox: holding answer 27 October 2010
	We deeply regret all civilian casualties. Protecting the Afghan civilian population is a cornerstone of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)'s mission, and all British troops undergo comprehensive training on the strict rules of engagement. Where incidents do occur, procedures are in place to ensure they are promptly reported to the chain of command and follow-up actions take place in accordance with ISAF and UK national procedures. This contrasts directly with the attitude of the insurgents, whose indiscriminate use of suicide bombs, roadside explosive devices and human shields cause the majority of civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan. We will continue our efforts to prevent insurgents harming civilians and to develop the capacity of Afghan security forces to protect the population.
	The records relating to the follow-up actions taken following these incidents are not held centrally by the Department and will take time to identify. I will write to the hon. Member once work has been completed.
	Substantive answer from Liam Fox to Paul Flynn:
	I undertook to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Questions on 3 November 2010 (Official Report, columns 847W-850W) on Armed Forces Investigations. I am new in a position to do so.
	Let me begin by reiterating that protecting Afghan civilians is among our and ISAF's top priorities. There are strict procedures in place to both minimise the risk of casualties occurring and to investigate any incidents that, regrettably, do happen. Where there are incidents in which civilians have been injured or killed, and UK forces are potentially believed to have been involved, the chain of command conducts an investigation to ensure that Rules of Engagement (ROE) have been complied with and Escalation of Force procedures followed. If it is suspected that a criminal act has taken place it will be reported to the Service Police for further investigation.
	The information disclosed by Wikileaks about each incident came from the Serious incident Report, which is an initial snapshot of what occurred, often reported in the few moments immediately after an event. Because of their immediacy to the event these reports do not always have all of the-facts and it is .for this reason that sub-sequent, more detailed investigations are conducted to consider all of the relevant information.
	I can confirm that we have located the necessary records to confirm that 11 of the incidents you enquired about were fully investigated by the Chain of Command in theatre. All the troops involved complied with UK ROE and followed Escalation of Force procedures correctly. Those incidents were:
	
		
			 Allegation Date 
			 Allegation 3 21 October 2007 
			 Allegation 4 25 October 2007 
			 Allegation 5 6 November 2007 
			 Allegation 8 22 October 2008 
			 Allegation 10 29 November 2008 
			 Allegation 12 24 December 2008 
			 Allegation 13 30 December 2008 
			 Allegation 16 27 January 2009 
			 Allegation 18 19 May 2009 
			 Allegation 19 28 May 2009 
			 Allegation 21 10 November 2009 
		
	
	A further five incidents were investigated by the Chain of Command but the reports we have located are incomplete:
	
		
			 Allegation Date 
			 Allegation 1 15 November 2006 
			 Allegation 7 14 October 2008 
			 Allegation 11 4 December 2008 
			 Allegation 14 3 January 2009 
			 Allegation 17 26 March 2009 
		
	
	We have been unable to confirm whether these reports were not completed properly or simply the wrong version was filed upon return from theatre. However, they had all found that the troops had not breached UK law or ROE.
	Allegation 2 (dated 4 October 2007) was, as you know, attributed to an unknown patrol. Despite the extensive searches we have undertaken no further details of this incident have been uncovered.
	Allegation 9 (dated 19 November 2008) was investigated by the Chain of Command. A summary of the investigation report was located in a separate document, which found that the troops involved correctly followed Escalation of Force procedures, but it has not been possible to locate the report itself.
	For two incidents, Allegation 15 (dated 19 January 2009) and Allegation 20 (dated 30 September 2009), the civilian casualties were caused by other ISAF nations, and, in accordance with policy at the time, were not investigated by the UK. Our policy now states that in such circumstances, where UK troops are .involved even if clearly not directly responsible for a civilian casualty, a UK investigation will take place.
	With regard to Allegation 6 (dated 12 March 2008), no investigation took place as there was no indication of civilian casualties. A possible Afghan National Police casualty was initially reported (as published by Wikileaks) but a few moments later he was confirmed as a UK soldier. UK helicopters were called in and engaged the enemy. However, despite The Guardian stating two women and two children were killed, and another child injured, in this incident there is no mention of this in our reports.
	None of the incidents were reported to the Service Police for further investigation.
	The-Permanent Joint Headquarters has completed a review of the policy regarding these incidents to confirm the reporting process and ensure investigations are properly recorded.
	I will not be placing copies of the investigation reports in the Library of the House as their release could prejudice the safety and effectiveness of the Armed Forces.
	I hope this response has been helpful.

Ben Parkinson

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson will not be discharged from the Army on medical grounds whilst he is in receipt of medical rehabilitation from his Department.

Andrew Robathan: We do not comment on individual cases. However, I can confirm that every case is assessed individually and no one will leave the armed forces until they have reached a point in their recovery where it is right for them to leave, however long that takes.

Commando Brigade

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Order of Battle is of the Commando Brigade.

Peter Luff: As at 7 September 2011, 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines consisted of:
	Cdo IX Group
	40, 42 and 45 Cdo RM
	1 Rifles
	29 Cdo Reg (Royal Artillery)
	24 Cdo (Royal Engineers)
	Cdo Logistics Regiment
	539 Assault Squadron
	Armoured Support Group
	Outside the brigade, the Royal Marines include the following units:
	Force Protection Group
	1 Assault Group
	Commando Training Centre
	Commando Helicopter Forces
	Royal Marines Band

Defence Reform Review

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much he expects to be saved as a result of the implementation of Lord Levene's recommendations in the report, Defence Reform—an independent report into the structure and management of the Ministry of Defence, published in June 2011.

Liam Fox: As the Defence Reform report explains, its aim was to develop a simpler and more effective model for the management of Defence. While this should enable the Department to make significant reductions in running costs and get greater value for money out of the Defence budget this was not its primary purpose. Work during the implementation phase will determine the projected savings, and any associated costs, from those Defence Reform recommendations that become formal change programmes.

Defence Support Group

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to sell (a) the Defence Support Group, (b) the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre and (c) his Department's share of the telecommunications spectrum.

Peter Luff: As the strategic defence and security review made clear, sales of assets such as the Defence Support Group and the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre and the defence stake in the telecommunications spectrum, should generate in excess of £500 million over the spending review period. Sales are expected to be completed by the end of the current comprehensive spending review period in 2015.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect the transposition of directive 2009/81/EC into UK law will have on Yellow Book procurement rules regarding sole source procurement.

Peter Luff: The transposition of Directive 2009/81/EC into UK law will have no effect on the current arrangements used by the Ministry of Defence for pricing work that it has decided to procure on a sole source basis. These arrangements are often referred to as 'Yellow Book' rules. This is because the EU treaties and the directive establishes the legal framework under which a decision is made to procure goods, works and services in the defence and security fields either sole source or through competition. Only when that decision has been made are any specific rules governing the selected type of procurement applied. When a decision, in compliance with that legal framework, has been made to procure sole source, then the existing sole source arrangements will continue to apply to that procurement.

Manpower

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Army personnel, (b) Ministry of Defence Police, (c) civil servants working for his Department and (d) civilian staff of his Department were employed at (i) Dreghorn, (ii) Redford and (iii) Craigiehall barracks in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 14 September 2011
	The figures requested are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Army MOD Police MOD Civilians 
			 Craigiehall 180 1 158 
			 Dreghorn 592 0 14 
			 Redford 745 0 £50 
		
	
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) Police and MOD civilian figures represent the actual numbers of personnel in post at 31 August 2011.
	The Army figures have been taken from the joint personnel administration system and represent the number of Army personnel employed at the locations as at 13 September 2011.

Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the value of estimated tax receipts, calculated in accordance with the Green Book, in each public sector economic assessment of private finance initiative projects in procurement by his Department as of March 2011.

Peter Luff: holding answer 13 September 2011
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) currently has no private finance initiative (PFI) projects in procurement. It does have a small potential future pipeline of housing and aircrew training service projects which are subject to investment decisions prior to commencing procurement. The MOD remains committed to using PFI only where it is value for money.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his Department's Business Plan 2011-2015, how much is projected to be saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from the reduction of the number of Tornados in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Liam Fox: Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 0 30 35 90 
			 Capital DEL 10 0 0 5 
			 Other Resource DEL 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	No savings were identified in 2010-11
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes depreciation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) has been saved and (b) is projected to be saved in each financial year of the spending review period in (i) Resource DEL, (ii) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from sales of his Department's assets.

Liam Fox: The Department has agreed a target of £162 million of capital receipts over the spending review period from disposing of assets that could be sold as viable businesses. Preparatory work is in the early stages and will include a value for money analysis to identify ongoing costs and potential savings for each of the asset sales. The earliest receipt is likely to be realised during financial year 2013-14.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much will be saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total by April 2013 from the withdrawal of the three variants of the TriStar transport/tanker aircraft from service.

Liam Fox: The savings to April 2013 are expected to be as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 15 30 
			 Capital DEL 5 Nil 
			 Other Resource DEL 0 0 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the Strategic Defence and Security Review was treated as Annually Managed Expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes depreciation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much will be saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total by March 2012 from placing at extended readiness a landing and command ship.

Liam Fox: Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 10 10 15 10 
			 Capital DEL 0 0 0 0 
			 Other Resource DEL 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence and security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes deprecation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much has been saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from the removal of the Royal Navy component of the Joint Harrier Force from service;
	(2)  how much has been saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from the removal of the RAF component of the Joint Harrier Force from service.

Liam Fox: Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 125 170 180 180 
			 Capital DEL 25 40 15 15 
			 Other Resource DEL 305 320 325 330 
		
	
	The figures represent the total projected savings arising from the retirement of the Joint Harrier Force. We have not calculated the projected savings individually for the Royal Naval and Royal Air Force components as many costs are common and are not directly attributable, to either service.
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence and security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes depreciation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from the decommissioning of HMS Ark Royal.

Liam Fox: Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 10 25 35 35 
			 Capital DEL 0 0 0 0 
			 Other Resource DEL 25 25 25 25 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence and security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes depreciation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from the reduction by four in the number of frigates.

Liam Fox: Savings over the next four years are expected to be as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14- 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 15 45 70 75 
			 Capital DEL 10 10 5 5 
			 Other Resource DEL -10 -10 -10 -10 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the Strategic Defence and Security Review was treated as Annually Managed Expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes deprecation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from the decommissioning of one Bay-class amphibious support ship.

Liam Fox: Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 10 5 5 5 
			 Capital DEL 5 0 0 0 
			 Other Resource DEL -20 5 5 5 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence and security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes deprecation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his Department's Business Plan 2011-2015, how much has been saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from not bringing into service the Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft.

Liam Fox: Savings over the next four years are expected to be as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 85 195 220 210 
			 Capital DEL 55 5 5 15 
			 Other Resource DEL 150 150 150 150 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the Strategic Defence and Security Review was treated as Annually Managed Expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes depreciation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his Department's Business Plan 2011-2015, what efficiencies over the Comprehensive Spending Review period, including work under the Transforming Defence programme, have been made; how much is projected to be saved in respect of those efficiencies in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually managed expenditure and (d) in total in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Liam Fox: holding answer 12 September 2011
	Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 185 505 970 1,100 
			 Capital DEL -5 -25 115 440 
			 Other Resource DEL 0 0 -5 -10 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence and security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes deprecation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million. They do not include any future efficiency that may result from future planning rounds or the programming of the Transforming Defence programme.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much is projected to be saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually managed expenditure and (d) in total from the Ministry of Defence Efficiency Programme in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Liam Fox: holding answer 12 September 2011
	Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 185 505 970 1,100 
			 Capital DEL -5 -25 115 440 
			 Other Resource DEL 0 0 -5 -10 
		
	
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence and security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes deprecation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million. They do not include any future efficiency that may result from future planning rounds or the programming of the Transforming Defence programme.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what non-front line costs his Department incurred in 2010-11 in respect of (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL and (c) AME.

Liam Fox: holding answer 13 September 2011
	Non-front line costs are not routinely calculated separately. The Ministry of Defence is committed to saving at least £4.3 billion in activities that have been identified as non-front line over the spending review period. Progress against this target will be reported in the Department's business plan.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department expects to save through reductions in commodity spend in respect of (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL and (c) AME in each year of the comprehensive spending review period.

Liam Fox: holding answer 13 September 2011
	The Ministry of Defence expects to save approximately £80 million over thespending review period as a result of additional reductions in commodityspend. Details of when these savings will be realised are still being developed.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) has been saved and (b) is projected to be saved in each financial year of the comprehensive spending review period from reductions in spend on media and communications from (i) Resource DEL, (ii) Capital DEL, (iii) AME and (iv) in total.

Liam Fox: holding answer 13 September 2011
	Savings over the next four years are expected to be as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Resource DEL (near cash) 10 15 20 20 
			 Capital DEL 0 0 0 0 
			 Other DEL 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	These figures do not include savings related to advertising and marketing in support of service recruiting.
	Other Resource DEL includes depreciation and the costs of writing down or writing off the value of capital equipment no longer required. In 2010-11, the portion of this cost attributable to decisions made in the strategic defence and security review was treated as annually managed expenditure. Its treatment in 2011-12 and future years has yet to be decided.
	Because Resource DEL includes depreciation, which is the capital cost of equipment spread over time, it cannot be added to Capital DEL to give a total figure.
	All figures are planning assumptions and are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department expects to save through estate rationalisation through (a) sales and (b) reduced operational costs in respect of (i) Resource DEL, (ii) Capital DEL and (iii) AME in each year of the comprehensive spending review period.

Liam Fox: holding answer 13 September 2011
	As announced as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, theMinistry of Defence expects to save up to £350 million per year through therationalisation of the Defence estate and associated running cost savingsincluding a revised approach to the way we manage and deliver infrastructureservices across the estate. Sales of assets should generate in excess of £500million over the comprehensive spending review period.
	Detailed plans are being developed and finalised as part of the current and future planning rounds. Further details or a profile are not available at this time.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what savings to the public purse he expects to achieve from the Submarine Enterprise Performance Programme in respect of (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL and (c) AME during the comprehensive spending review period.

Peter Luff: The strategic defence and security review stated that the Submarine Enterprise Performance Programme was expected to deliver savings of at least £900 million over the next 10 years. These savings, which are subject to further work, are expected to start to accrue towards the end of the comprehensive spending review period, and are all expected to be in respect of Capital DEL.

Official Overseas Visits

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's policy on overseas travel for departmental (a) Ministers and (b) parliamentary private secretaries.

Liam Fox: holding answer 12 September 2011
	Official ministerial overseas travel is undertaken only where there is a clear defence requirement. Such travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules of the Ministerial Code, which is available from the following website:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/ministerial-conduct-and-guidance

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he plans to deploy more troops to Gibraltar;
	(2)  how much his Department spent on the defence of Gibraltar in each of the last 10 years.

Peter Luff: The strategic defence and security review confirmed our commitment to the defence of Gibraltar and to the continued maintenance of a permanent joint operating base there, and the Ministry of Defence will maintain in Gibraltar the facilities, forces and readiness levels required. This will involve reducing our land and estate holdings, transferring services to the Government of Gibraltar as agreed under the 2007 global agreement, and reducing the number of UK-based armed forces and civilian personnel deployed there.
	The costs directly attributable to the provision of a Forward Mounting Base in Gibraltar are shown in the following table for the years 2006-07 to the most recent financial year and have been rounded to the nearest £ million. Figures before 2006-07 are not comparable due to changes in the Department's accounting rules.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2006-07 68 
			 2007-08 76 
			 2008-09 70 
			 2009-10 69 
			 2010-11 75

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent reports he has received of territorial infringements in Gibraltarian waters; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many territorial infringements in relation to Gibraltar were recorded by his Department in each of the last 10 years.

Peter Luff: The Minister for the Armed Forces, my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), last visited British Forces Gibraltar in February this year, and the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), did so in July. They were both briefed on incursions into British Gibraltar territorial waters, and how these are dealt with by Ministry of Defence and Government of Gibraltar assets, and diplomatically, as appropriate. Records of incursions have only been maintained since May 2009. Many of the incursions that occur are legal crossings constituting “innocent passage” as defined by the UN convention on the law of the sea. The number of serious illegal incursions is as follows:
	
		
			 Reporting period Serious incursions 
			 25 May 2009 to 31 December 2009 5 
			 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 5 
			 1 January 2011 to 31 August 2011 5 
		
	
	The most recent of these serious incidents occurred on 3 May 2011.

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry if held for each individual transaction undertaken by Defence Travel using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Peter Luff: holding answer 13 September 2011
	We do not plan to publish the details requested for each Government Procurement Card (GPC) transaction relating to Defence travel.
	However, while we currently release details of expenditure on all GPC transactions over £25,000, as part of the Government's efforts to make the procurement process more transparent, we will shortly publish all GPC transactions for the current financial year of £500 and above. The level of detail will be restricted to protect the safety of some members of staff and some of our suppliers.
	We intend to publish the details of transactions of £500 and above for the period April 2011 to June 2011 by the end of September 2011. We will publish data for the period July 2011 to September 2011 in October 2011, with data provided monthly in arrears thereafter.

India: Arms Trade

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to increase defence exports to India; and if he will make a statement.

Gerald Howarth: holding  answer  9 September 2011
	We continue to support Defence exports in India through an active Defence diplomacy initiative, working closely with the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation. Exports help to build and enhance relations with allies, to support UK defence industry, and to reduce the cost of equipment for Britain's Armed Forces through extended production runs.
	Defence Ministers travelling overseas will responsibly promote the best that Britain has to offer. Earlier this year I travelled to India where I had discussions on export opportunities. Defence Ministers have held further discussions on export opportunities such as Typhoon, Hawk and Global Combat Ship during the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition (DSEi) taking place 13-16 September 2011, at which meetings were held with the Indian delegations.

Israel: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on leasing drones from Israel in each of the last five years; what the total operating time of such drones was in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: holding answer 13 September 2011
	The Hermes 450 Unmanned Air System (UAS) is operated by the British Army under a service provision contract awarded to Thales UK in 2007. The UAS assets are provided to Thales UK by Elbit Systems, a company based in Israel. Since 2007, Hermes 450 has flown the following number of hours on operations:
	
		
			  Hours   flown 
			 2007 4,180 
			 2008 12,576 
			 2009 10,925 
			 2010 14,698 
			 2011 (up until September) 10,392 
		
	
	This activity has been undertaken at a cost of just over £125 million. I am withholding a breakdown of this cost as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of sorties flown by NATO forces in respect of Operation Ellamy were flown by each participating state.

Peter Luff: From the start of current operations in Libya up till 1 September 2011, NATO coalition aircraft have flown around 8,000 strike sorties of which the UK has flown around 1,500.
	The UK does not comment on the operational details of allied nations' operations, which are a matter for the Governments concerned.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the United States Department of Defense regarding the exchange of one initial operational test and evaluation F-35B aircraft for an initial operational test and evaluation F-35C aircraft.

Peter Luff: The UK is committed to procuring three F-35B aircraft to conduct joint operational test and evaluation activity with the US armed forces. Since the decision taken, during last year's strategic defence and security review, to change to the carrier variant, the UK has agreed in principle with the US to exchange one of these aircraft for a USMC F-35C aircraft. However, the decision to implement the aircraft exchange remains subject to approval by HM Treasury and the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Military Bases: Kirknewton

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on (a) the Military Civil Integration project, (b) the proposed construction of barracks at Kirknewton, West Lothian and (c) regional engagement.

Peter Luff: Comprehensive planning work is now under way to draw up plans for the timing and sequencing of the Army moves. This work will also decide the infrastructure requirements, including at Kirknewton, needed to complete the re-basing. This detailed planning work will involve the appropriate and necessary engagement with partners such as the Scottish Government, West Lothian council and other Government Departments and agencies, including the appropriate level of consultation which will be required as we work through all options.
	While our plans will continue to be driven by the military requirement, we will aim, where possible, to base Army personnel close to a number of units to enable them to change post while providing greater family stability and to be close enough to urban areas to allow their families to have easier access to jobs, schools, housing and other facilities.
	This work will be supported by the Military Civil Integration (MCI). The key objectives of this approach are:
	To identify and manage the impact of changes to the size, nature and geographical location of armed forces communities.
	To provide partner organisations with a clear understanding of the specific needs of the armed forces communities in their area in order to factor these needs into long-term planning, and to enable the appropriate provision of local authority services.
	To establish a programme of work that delivers mutual benefit and promotes economic and social integration between the armed forces communities and the wider civilian community.
	In pursuing this policy, we will clearly aim to engage closely at both regional and local level in Scotland, where the MCI is conducted through the Firm Base Forum and a Governance Model that has been developed with the Scottish Government and the local authorities.

Navy

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what process the Royal Navy uses to dispose of surplus (a) spare parts, (b) specialist and general tools and (c) other surplus equipment;
	(2)  what the marketing value was of disposed assets belonging to the Royal Navy in the last year for which figures are available.

Peter Luff: When major assets such as ships and aircraft become surplus to requirements, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) first looks at selling to other governments. This has the potential benefit of strengthening international relationships and generating income that can be reinvested in defence. It also enables other governments to contribute to international security and could also provide UK industry with opportunities to undertake some of the regeneration work. If such a sale is not feasible, then other options are considered, such as sale to private commercial enterprises or even recycling.
	When the MOD updates its equipment and stock, surplus and obsolete items (including spare parts) are sold through the MOD's own Disposal Services Authority (DSA), largely through a network of marketing agreements for the collection, storage, and specialist marketing and sale of surplus equipments, so as to achieve the best return for the taxpayer. Contractors are selected through open competition in compliance with European Union public procurement regulations.
	The DSA marketing contractors will sell through target marketing to potential customers, direct negotiation or by competitive tender or auction including websites for purely commercially viable kit where this route to market will provide the optimum return. DSA are not made aware of the market value of equipment when it is declared as surplus but can set a minimum guaranteed price and a minimum selling price for major and unusual items when they are sold by the marketing contractors.
	In the financial year 2010-11, the MOD achieved receipts of around £10 million from the sale of surplus naval equipment, including items such as capital ships, naval spares and scrap, small boats, clothing and vehicles.

Navy

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Order of Battle is of the fleet. [Official Report, 15 December 2011, Vol. 537, c. 1MC.]

Peter Luff: As at 7 September 2011, the Order of Battle for the fleet was as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Landing Platform Helicopter (1)2 
			 Landing Platform Dock 2 
			 T45 3 
			 T42 4 
			 T23 13 
			 Hunt Class MCV 8 
			 Sandown Class MCV 7 
			 River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels 3 
			 Helicopter Offshore Patrol Vessels 1 
			 P2000 Patrol Boats 18 
			 Ocean Survey Vessels 1 
			 Coastal Survey Vessels 3 
			 Antarctic Patrol Ship 1 
			 Ships Submersible Ballistic Nuclear 4 
			 Ship Submersible Nuclear 7 
			 Assault Helicopters—Sea King Mk4 3 Sqns 
			 Search and Rescue—Sea King Mk5 2 Sqns 
			 Airbourne Surveillance and Control—Sea King Mk7 3 Sqns 
			   
			 Anti Submarine and Anti Surface:  
			 Merlin Mk1 Lynx 4 Sqns 
			 Mk3 and Mk8 3 Sqns 
			   
			 Battlefield Helicopters—Lynx Mk9 1 Sqn 
			 Elementary Flying 3 Sqns 
			 Beechcraft King Air 350ER Avenger 1 Sqn 
			 (1) HMS Illustrious is now operating in the Landing Platform Helicopter role, as well as HMS Ocean. 
		
	
	For the Royal Fleet Auxiliary:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Fleet Tankers 2 
			 Support Tankers 1 
			 Small Fleet Tankers 2 
			 Fleet Replenishment Ships 3 
			 Landing Ship Dock 3 
			 Aviation Training Ship 1 
			 Forward Repair Ship 1

RAF Leuchars

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral statement of 18 July 2011, Official Report, columns 643-45, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of basing at Leuchars the headquarters of the commanding officer of formation; what ceremonial roles that officer will still be required to carry out in Edinburgh; and what estimate he has made of the likely additional annual cost of the rebasing.

Peter Luff: Comprehensive planning work is now under way to draw up plans for the timing and sequencing of the Army moves.
	This detailed planning work will involve, at the appropriate time, the necessary engagement with partners such as the Scottish Government, West Lothian council and other Government Departments and agencies, including the appropriate level of consultation which will be required as we work through all options. It is, therefore, too early to confirm our exact requirements for, or indeed the cost implications of, developing RAF Leuchars as a major Army base.
	It is also too early to say what precise roles the commanding officer at Leuchars will undertake.

RAF Leuchars

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether an operational runway is to be retained at Leuchars following the arrival of Army units and a formation headquarters.

Peter Luff: No decisions have yet been made regarding whether an operational runway will be retained at Leuchars following the arrival of Army units and a formation headquarters.

RAF Leuchars

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the monetary value is of contracts awarded to local firms by RAF Leuchars in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Robathan: The information concerning the contracts awarded to local firms by RAF Leuchars prior to financial year (FY) 2010-11 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The monetary value of contracts awarded to local firms by RAF Leuchars in FY 2010-11 was around £152,000.

RAF Leuchars

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to meet the Residents Action Force Leuchars to discuss the closure of RAF Leuchars.

Peter Luff: The Minister for the Armed Forces, my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), met with representatives of the Residents' Action Force Leuchars earlier this year to discuss issues around the basing review. While the Ministry of Defence fully recognises the need to engage with members of the Leuchars community, it is considered too early in the planning phase process to conduct any meaningful discussions at this stage; the detail and implications of basing two major units and a formation headquarters at Leuchars is still being worked through.
	We will be establishing a comprehensive plan for engagement with those likely to be affected by the basing review. We do very much appreciate that the changes we have decided to make are going to have very significant implications for many and it is our firm intent to engage with those affected as we determine how to implement our decisions. This will include the appropriate and necessary engagement with partners such as the Scottish Government, Fife council and other Government Departments and agencies, as well as local communities.

RAF Lossiemouth: European Fighter Aircraft

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for a new Air Defence training area for the operation of the Typhoon Force from RAF Lossiemouth.

Peter Luff: There are currently no plans for a new air defence training area for the operation of Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. The Typhoon Force will continue to utilise extant training areas throughout the United Kingdom.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle to be fully operational; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: holding answer 13 September 2011
	It is planned that Watchkeeper will achieve full operating capability by December 2013.

Warships

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements his Department has made in respect of the protection of Royal Navy ships from running aground following the withdrawal of emergency towing vessels.

Peter Luff: In the event of an incident where a Royal Navy vessel requires recovery, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is able to deploy military and commercial assets to recover that vessel. Royal Navy personnel are trained to deal with a range of scenarios, such as towing other vessels, and if required, the MOD is able to place short notice contracts with industry for towing vessels from anywhere in the UK or indeed the world.

EDUCATION

Academies

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people employed by (a) his Department and (b) the Young People's Learning Agency are assigned to work on the Academy Programme; and what the cost to the public purse of the (i) salaries, (ii) national insurance contributions, (iii) pension contributions and (iv) allowances in respect of such staff was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 September 2011
	As at 30 June 2011 there were around 260 people (full time equivalents) in the Department for Education engaged directly in work on policy development and programme delivery related to Academy schools. In addition, there are around 117 staff (full time equivalents) in the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) involved in funding and supporting open Academies. There are other staff both in the Department and in the YPLA who make a contribution to policy development and programme delivery related to Academy schools as part of their wider role.
	The latest period for which spending figures are available is the first quarter of this financial year, April to June 2011. The cost to the public purse for this period breaks down as follows.
	
		
			 Breakdown of costs April to June 2011 
			 £ 
			  DFE YPLA 
			 Salaries(1) 2,118,687 1,172,766 
			 NI Contributions 179,633 104,795 
			 Pension Contributions 425,923 231,088 
			 Allowances n/a 19,021 
			 Total 2,724,243 1,527,670 
			 (1) Salaries includes the cost of agency staff.

Academies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reason local education authorities are responsible for the costs of maintaining the records of schools converting to academies.

Nick Gibb: When a school converts to academy status most of the responsibility for maintaining records falls to the academy. Local authorities will be responsible for retaining some records in relation to the statutory functions that they retain and which do not transfer to the academy, such as provision relating to SEN statemented pupils and home to school transport arrangements. The funding that UKs receive takes account of retained statutory responsibilities.

Capital Grant Scheme

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many local authorities will receive funding from his Department's capital grant to be allocated in the autumn; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how his Department will determine which local authorities will receive funding from its capital grant scheme; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will assess the effects of the timing of the autumn announcement of capital funding for local authorities from his Department for 2012-13 and 2013-14 on local authorities' ability to plan repair and rebuilding work in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 8 September 2011
	In July 2011 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced £500 million of extra funding for local authorities which are facing the greatest pressure from a continuing rise in pupil numbers, but have insufficient school places available. Most of this funding comes from efficiency savings from remaining BSF projects—all of which are continuing as planned. This money will be allocated in this financial year to the local authorities with the greatest demographic pressures so they can provide enough places, especially at primary schools, in 2012. Details of those allocations will be provided in the autumn. Although this is 2011-12 money, it will be delivered to local authorities as unringfenced grant, where they have no time-limit on spend.
	Local authorities can invest this funding in additional places in all categories of school, considering where the additional places will best benefit the children of their area.
	The Secretary of State also announced the establishment of a new, privately-financed, programme of school building which will address between 100 and 300 of the schools in the worst condition. We expect to announce in December 2011 the projects which will be taken forward.
	We are currently consulting on the recommendations made in Sebastian James's review of education capital and will make further announcements on local capital allocations when we have considered the responses. We would expect all local authorities to maintain asset management plans, enabling effective targeting and timing of investment in the schools across their estate.

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) childminder services, (b) full day childcare settings and (c) out-of-school childcare settings (i) opened and (ii) closed in England in each year since 2005-06.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofsted. The Chief Inspector, Miriam Rosen, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Miriam Rosen, dated 8 September 2011
	Your recent Parliamentary Question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	Ofsted has regulated and inspected childcare providers since September 2001, taking over that function from local authorities. Prior to 1 September 2008 Ofsted registered providers by type of care including full day care and out of school care. The Childcare Act 2006 which came into effect on 1 September 2008 changed the way in which childcare was registered and categorised. From this date Ofsted has held two registers, the Early Years Register for providers caring for children from birth until 31 August after their fifth birthday, and the Childcare Register for older children or where compulsory registration is not required. The Childcare Act also removed the different types of childcare and combined ail types of care on non-domestic premises into one category ‘childcare on non-domestic premises’. This includes full day care settings and out of school care but also has other types of care within it such as sessional pre-schools. The figures below therefore use the new categories from September 2008.
	The information you have requested is provided in Tables A and B below. Figures are provided by financial year.
	You requested the number of providers who have opened in each year since 2005-06. We have provided the number of those who have registered with us in each of the years since this date. This does not necessarily mean that these have opened for the first time. Some are registrations where providers change their legal entity, for example from an individual to a limited company, but still continue to provide childcare from the same address; or involve providers who are already registered with us on one register and who choose at a later date to register on the other register.
	For ‘closed’ providers we have given the number of providers who resigned or had their registration with Ofsted cancelled in the year concerned. Some of these providers may have resigned from one register but continue to provide childcare in relation to the other register.
	Please note that the same provider may appear in figures for both the full day care
	and the out of school day care, up to and including the first part of the year 2008-09, This is because it was possible for the same provider to register to provide both day care types.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Sarah Teather, Minister of State for Children and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	
		
			 Table A: Number of providers registering in each financial year 
			 Provision type  (1) 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 1 April to 31 August 2008 1 September 2008  (2 )  to 31 March 2009 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Childminder 11,205 10,728 8,973 3,833 4,556 7,148 7,547 
			 Full day care 1,752 1,664 1,596 743 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Out of school day care 1,906 1,728 1,609 691 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Childcare on non-domestic premises n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,404 2,360 2,577 
			 (1) Providers were only categorised as full or out of school day care settings until the start of the Early Years Foundation Stage on 1 September 2008. After this date all providers who would have been categorised as day care were categorised as childcare on non-domestic premises. (2) Introduction of Early Years Foundation Stage. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table B: Number of providers closing in each financial year 
			 Provision type  (1) 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 1 April to 31 August 2008 1 September 2008  (2)   to 31 March 2009 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Childminder 10,427 12,943 14,578 4,859 6,942 10,587 8,186 
			 Full day care 1,104 1,445 1,572 642 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Out of school day care 1,261 1,813 1,735 721 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Childcare on non-domestic premises n/a n/a n/a n/a 2,373 3,139 3,140 
			 (1) Providers were only categorised as full or out of school day care settings until the start of the Early Years Foundation Stage on 1 September 2008, After this date all providers who would have been categorised as day care were categorised as childcare on non-domestic premises. (2) Introduction of Early Years Foundation Stage.

Civil Servants

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many civil servants his Department employed in each of its three most senior grades (a) on the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: Over the period, headcount information for the whole of the Department and predecessor Department's senior civil service (SCS) is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Part (a) Part (b) 
			 Grade band Department for Education (DfE) DfE Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) DCSF DCSF Department for Education and Skills 
			 Data at: 31 July 2011 31 March 2011 31 March 2010 31 March 2009 31 March 2008 31 March 2007 
			 Permanent Secretary 1 1 1 1 1 1 
			 SCS Band 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 
			 SCS Band 2 21 21 24 23 20 25 
			 SCS Band 1 and 1A 96 92 90 91 84 99 
			 Total 122 118 119 118 109 129

Computer Science

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of the teaching and learning of computer science to the digital, creative and high-technology industries.

Nick Gibb: We are currently reviewing the national curriculum and the position of ICT, which includes elements of computer science.
	In July 2010 the Government commissioned the Livingstone Hope Review of the skills shortages faced by the digital, creative and technological industries. This review made several recommendations including the need for rigorous teaching of computer science in schools and universities, which we are now considering.

Departmental Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the value of estimated tax receipts, calculated in accordance with the Green Book, in each public sector economic assessment of private finance initiative projects in procurement by his Department as of March 2011.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 12 September 2011
	When carrying out an appraisal of a project or policy, the Green Book sets out that options should be adjusted for material differences in tax. Differences in tax receipts between PFI and conventionally funded projects are considered as part of HM Treasury's Value for Money model which is run for each PFI project at the appraisal stage. The output of the model is one source of information that is used to inform the overall value for money assessment of the project. For those projects in procurement in March 2011 the percentage by which the public sector comparator is uplifted to reflect the additional tax take that accrues to the Government from the private finance option is given in the table.
	These figures are for outline business cases at the pre-market appraisal stage and therefore are not used to assess tax takes from specific PFI providers after contracts have been signed.
	
		
			 Project Local authority School name Tax assumption (percentage) 
			 1 Birmingham Waverley 6 
			 2 Essex Woodlands 6 
			 3 Halton The Grange 6 
			 4 Islington Paradise Park PRU (New River College) 6 
			 5 Kingston Upon Hull Andrew Marvell, Oakfield and Kingswood 5 
			 6 Knowsley SEN adjacent to Kirkby Sports Centre for Learning 6 
			 7 Leicester City of Leicester and Crown Hills 8 
			 8 Nottingham Farnborough. School and Technology College 6 
			 9 Rochdale Falinge Park High and Wardle 6 
			 10 Salford St Ambrose Barlow and St Patrick's RC High, The Swinton High/Moorside 6 
			 11 Wolverhampton Heath Park Business and Enterprise and North East Wolverhampton Academy 6

Departmental Redundancy

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010.

Tim Loughton: Information on approved releases made by the Education Family (the Department and its arm’s length bodies) since May 2010 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Name Cost of staff released since May 2010   (£) 
			 Department for Education 9,300,000 
			 Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) 2,500,000 
			 Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) 130,056 
			 General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) 0 
			 National College 651,948 
			 Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) 10,099 
			 Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) 0 
			 Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) 1,400,000 
			 Partnerships for Schools (PfS) 576,927 
			 Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) 6,000,000 
			 School Food Trust (SFT) 323,772 
			 Training and Development Agency (TDA) 1,900,000 
			 Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) 0

Departmental Written Questions

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of written questions tabled to him for answer on a named day did not receive a substantive answer on the day named for answer between (a) 27 May 2010 and 19 July 2011 and (b) 9 March 2011 and 19 July 2011.

Tim Loughton: The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.
	Between 27 May 2010 and 19 July 2011 the Department received 1,170 named day parliamentary questions, out of which 13% were answered on the specified named day. Between 9 March 2011 and 19 July 2011 the Department received 350 named day parliamentary questions, out of which 27% were answered on the specified named day.
	The Department aims to answer named day questions on the date specified by the Member and ordinary questions within five sitting days. Where it is not possible to provide a full answer within the usual deadline, the Department believes it will usually be preferable to provide a full answer a few days late than to provide an incomplete answer.

Education Maintenance Allowance: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people in the City of York received education maintenance allowance in each year since 2004-05.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for York Central with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Education: Finance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on (a) primary and (b) secondary school education in (i) South Tyneside, (ii) the North East and (iii) nationwide in 2010.

Nick Gibb: The available information on how much was spent is for 2009-10 and is shown as follows. The information for 2010-11 is currently being collected and will be available in January 2012.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Primary Secondary 
			 England 15,490,397,855 15,635,929,285 
		
	
	
		
			 North East 758,257,552 804,772,400 
			 South Tyneside 45,180,742 48,981,610 
			 Note: The data are taken from the local authorities section 251 Outturn statement for 2009-10.

Education: Young People

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the local education authority net revenue expenditure per head of population aged between 14 and 19 was in cash terms for each London borough in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 13 September 2011
	The Department does not hold this information.

Family Intervention Programme

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff were employed in each Family Intervention Project in each year since the establishment of the projects.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not collect this information.

GCSE

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many pupils achieved at least five GCSEs grades A* to C in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) nationwide in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many pupils achieved GCSEs grades A* to C including English and Maths in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) nationwide in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: The information for 1997 and 2005 to 2010 is provided in the following table. Figures for 1998 to 2004 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Jarrow Constituency South Tyneside North East England 
			  Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A  * to   C Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A* to C including English and mathematics Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A  *  to   C Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A* to C including English and mathematics Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A  *  to   C Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A* to C including English and mathematics Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A  *  to   C Number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE grades A* to C including English and mathematics 
			 1997 389 275 668 512 11,492 8,787 264,910 213,244 
			 2005 505 317 1,000 663 16,616 11,805 361,551 284,209 
			 2006 543 370 1,112 791 18,198 12,804 382,663 296,077 
			 2007 629 425 1,242 878 19,707 13,607 402,411 303,535 
			 2008 674 429 1,268 834 21,347 14,423 426,732 311,076 
			 2009 741 448 1,487 917 22,347 14,761 444,390 316,104 
			 2010 775 529 1,529 957 23,471 15,608 482,225 341,980 
			 Notes: 1. Figures in the table include GCSE and equivalents. 2. Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside and North East figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. 3. Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside and North East figures cover all maintained schools. England figure includes all participating schools. 4. 2005-2010 figures based on pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the academic year. 1997 figures based on pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year. 5. Figures are derived from final Secondary School Performance Tables data.

GCSE: Home Education

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps the Government is taking to ensure that home-educated children have access to GCSE examination centres.

Nick Gibb: We recognise that it is not always easy for home-educated children to find suitable exam centres. While it is rightly a matter for an individual school or college as to whether to provide facilities for home-educated children to sit their exams, we encourage them to do so; and we provide training, advice and support to exam officers accordingly. We also welcome the work that awarding bodies do to promote such access.

Government Buying Standards

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the reasons were for excluding his Department from the adoption of Government Buying Standards.

Tim Loughton: The Department fully complies with most of the Government Buying Standards, however, we will continue to apply our own nutritional standards to the Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services as they are equal to or better than those in the Government Standard.

Numeracy

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that children finish education functionally numerate; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to raise levels of basic numeracy and personal finance capability in education.

Nick Gibb: A sound understanding of mathematics enhances pupils' employment prospects and gives them skills that can be used in all aspects of life. Numeracy is the core foundation of mathematics.
	Good quality teaching is fundamental to improving engagement and achievement in mathematics. We will strengthen the teaching of mathematics by recruiting more high quality graduates, improving initial teacher training to ensure that all newly qualified teachers have the skills to teach well, improving the skills of existing teachers through good quality continuing professional development for mathematics teachers. We will also support initiatives to increase the number of specialist mathematics and science teachers.
	We are currently undertaking a review of the national curriculum in order to develop a curriculum that provides children with the essential knowledge needed when they leave school. Personal finance capability will be considered as part of that review. Young people also learn how to manage personal finance and understand a range financial products and services through the Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education programmes of study at Key Stages 3 and 4.
	It is our intention that all young people leave school or college with good English and maths skills, ideally the English and maths GCSE A*-C. In taking forward the recommendations in Alison Wolfs Review of Vocational Education we are investigating how English and maths should be part of an overall study programme for 16 to 18-year-olds who have not yet achieved GCSE A*-C in English and/or maths.

Schools: Buildings

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on school buildings in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) nationwide in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: Complete information for capital allocations at constituency level, and by phase of education, is not held centrally. This information is held at local level. Capital allocations held centrally are as follows:
	
		
			 Capital allocations 
			 £ million 
			   Of which: 
			  England North East South Tyneside 
			 1997-98 650.1 34.9 1.5 
			 1998-99 1,027.0 53.9 2.5 
			 1999-2000 1,348.8 81.5 3.4 
			 2000-01 2,541.1 119.8 5.7 
			 2001-02 2,501.5 200.6 5.6 
			 2002-03 2,983.4 178.8 9.2 
			 2003-04 4,085.5 232.0 8.0 
			 2004-05 4,173.7 223.2 23.9 
			 2005-06 4,234.6 263.4 39.2 
			 2006-07 3,777.7 147.1 5.6 
			 2007-08 4,860.5 342.7 39.1 
			 2008-09 4,943.7 388.4 43.9 
			 2009-10 7,215.6 560.5 82.9 
			 2010-11 7,244.0 551.0 37.4 
			 Notes: 1. Capital allocations include capital grant, supported borrowing, and PFI credits. 2. PFI Credits are counted in the year of financial close, although the revenue support begins once the school asset comes into use. This, and the early use of supported borrowing allocations in Building Schools for the Future projects, accounts for the uneven run of figures in the table. 3. Local authorities in the North East are: Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton-on-Tees, and Sunderland. 
		
	
	Please see the following breakdown of capital spend year on year from 2001-02 onwards. We do not have figures for earlier years:
	
		
			 £ million 
			   Of which: 
			  Total North East South Tyneside 
			 2001-02 3.3 0.3 0 
			 2002-03 60.6 11.9 0 
			 2003-04 128.5 20.4 0 
			 2004-05 219.1 6.4 0 
			 2005-06 225.8 1.4 0 
			 2006-07 358.9 9.4 0 
			 2007-08 401.6 28.9 0 
			 2008-09 384.8 32.0 0 
			 2009-10 370.2 15.7 0 
			 2010-11 182.6 0.9 0

Schools: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how much his Department allocated to the City of York Council for school capital spending in (a) 1996-97 and (b) each year since;
	(2)  what capital funding was allocated by his Department to schools in the City of York in each year since 2003.

Nick Gibb: The following table shows allocations of central capital support to York local authority and its schools since 1996-97.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 1996-97 0.8 
			 1997-98 1.3 
			 1998-99 1.8 
			 1999-2000 4.5 
			 2000-01 7.4 
			 2001-02 4.8 
			 2002-03 9.2 
			 2003-04 11.1 
			 2004-05 (1)26.8 
			 2005-06 10.7 
			 2006-07 23.0 
			 2007-08 19.3 
			 2008-09 26.7 
			 2009-10 23.1 
			 2010-11 18 
			 2011-12 (2)6.2 
			 (1 )Of which £15.4 million of PFI credits. (2) Provisional.

Schools: Coventry

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools will visit Richard Lee Primary School in Coventry.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 9 September 2011
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools met the right hon. Member for Coventry North East in July 2011 to discuss the capital needs of Richard Lee primary school. Since then the Secretary of State for Education has announced further support for schools with the greatest need. A new, privately-financed programme of school building (the Priority School Building programme) will address between 100 and 300 of the schools in the worst condition.

Schools: Hampshire

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the guaranteed level of funding per pupil was for (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools in Hampshire in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the guaranteed level of funding will be in 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: The Guaranteed Unit of Funding for Hampshire in 2011-12 is £4,647.63 per pupil. The Department for Education allocates this funding to Hampshire county council and it is for the authority to delegate this funding to the schools in their area through their local funding formula to meet the individual needs and pressures of their schools. It also pays for the free entitlement to early education for three and four-year-olds, and for services retained by the local authority, such as support for High Needs pupils.
	The level of funding of the pupil premium in 2011-12 is £430 per pupil for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, £430 per pupil for looked after children and £200 per pupil for service children. According to the figures recorded on the January 2011 School Census, Hampshire will receive £8.5 million for the pupil premium.

Schools: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average class size for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools was in Newton Abbot constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Average class size state-funded primary and secondary schools  (1, 2, 3)  : Classes as taught  (4) 
			  Newton Abbot   p  arliamentary   c  onstituency  —  January 2011 
			 State-funded primary(1, 2) 26.8 
			 State-funded secondary(1)(3) 20.5 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies (including all-through academies). (4) One teacher classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January. Source: School Census

Schools: Swimming

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to promote swimming in schools.

Nick Gibb: Swimming is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum for Physical Education in primary schools. The current requirement is that every pupil must be able to swim 25 metres, unaided and in a recognised stroke, and demonstrate an understanding of water safety, by the end of Key Stage 2. The remit for the review of the National Curriculum, which is now under way, makes clear that this requirement will remain.

Sixth Form Colleges

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students are entering sixth form in each school and college in London in 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 9 September 2011
	Information on the number of students entering sixth form in 2011/12 is not yet available for either schools or colleges.
	Data will be collected through the School Census, and the Individualised Learner Record, on the number of students participating in sixth forms in 2011/12. This will be available from January 2012.

Social Workers

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what proportion of children's social workers employed by each local authority on 1 April in each of the last five financial years were no longer employed by the end of that financial year;
	(2)  how many qualified children's social workers were employed by each local authority on 1 April in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not currently collect this information from local authorities. Each local authority maintains its own data on the number of social workers and on turnover. Following the recommendation in the Munro review about the need for better data, both nationally and locally, there are plans to publish a new suite of nationally collected performance information by May 2012.

Teachers: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent (a) teachers, (b) teaching assistants and (c) support staff there were in local authority schools in the City of York in each year since 1996;
	(2)  what the average pupil to teacher ratio was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in York in each year since 1996.

Nick Gibb: York became a new local authority on 1 April 1997 and therefore the information requested is not available for 1996.
	The information requested for full-time equivalent teachers, teaching assistants and support staff in 1997, 2001 to 2009 is published in tables 19, 25 and 26 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) “School Workforce in England (including Local Authority level figures) January 2009 (Revised)” published on 29 September 2009. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000874/Tables19to27v2.xls
	The equivalent information requested for 1998 to 2000 is published in tables 18, 23 and 24 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) “School Workforce in England (including pupil:teacher ratios and pupil:adult ratios) January 2007 (Revised)” published on 27 September 2007. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000743/SFR29_2007_FinalTables18-25.xls
	The information requested for full-time equivalent teachers, teaching assistants and support staff in 2010 is published in tables 19, 25 and 26 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) “School Workforce in England (including pupil:teacher ratios and pupil:adult ratios) January 2010” published on 26 May 2010. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000927/index.shtml
	The following table provides the pupil:teacher ratios in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools in York local authority, in each January, 1997 to 2010 and November 2010.
	
		
			 Pupil:teacher ratios (PTRs)  (1)   in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools. Years: each January, 1997 to 2010 and November 2010. Coverage: York local authority 
			  York 
			  Primary Secondary 
			 January   
			 1997 24.3 16.3 
			 1998 24.6 16.2 
			 1999 23.5 16.7 
			 2000 24.6 18.4 
			 2001 22.9 16.6 
			 2002 22.0 16.0 
			 2003 22.0 16.0 
			 2004 22.7 16.0 
			 2005 23.0 15.6 
			 2006 21.7 15.9 
			 2007 21.7 16.3 
			 2008 21.4 15.7 
			 2009 21.6 15.7 
			 2010 21.8 15.3 
			    
			 November   
			 2010 24.6 16.0 
			 (1) The January 2010 PTRs are calculated by dividing the total FTE number of sole registered pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools. November 2010 figures are calculated using the FTE number of sole and dual registered pupils on roll. Source: School Census 
		
	
	November 2010 data from the new School Workforce Census (SWF) is also available in the “Publication's Underlying Data” available in the first zipped archive from the Statistical First Release “School Workforce in England November 2010 (Provisional)”. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000997/index.shtml
	November 2010 full-time equivalent (FTE) support staff numbers are not available because the actual hours that support staff worked were not collected and these figures are required to calculate the FTE. The November 2011 SWF will include this information.

Teachers: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the gross average salary of a full-time teacher in local authority schools in the City of York was in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 1996-97.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the gross average salary of full-time regular qualified teachers in service in local authority maintained schools by cash terms and real terms for York local authority, in each March, 1997 to 2009 and November 2010.
	
		
			 Average salary of full-time regular teachers  (1)   in service in local authority maintained schools in cash and real terms  (2)  , years: March 1997 to March 2009  (3)   and November 2010; coverage: York local authority 
			 £ 
			  York local authority 
			  Cash terms Real terms 
			 As at March:   
			 1997(4) 22,600 30,800 
			 1998(4) 23,200 30,900 
			 1999(4) 24,100 31,400 
			 2000(4) 24,900 31,900 
			 2001(4) 26,900 33,900 
		
	
	
		
			 2002(4) 27,800 34,300 
			 2003(4) 29,700 35,400 
			 2004(4) 30,600 35,500 
			 2005(4) 32,100 36,300 
			 2006(4) 33,100 36,800 
			 2007(4) 34,300 36,900 
			 2008(4) (5)— (5)— 
			 2009(3,4) 35,800 36,400 
			    
			 As at November:   
			 2010(6) 37,600 37,600 
			 (1) Teachers of all grades including school leadership. (2) Real terms figures calculated at 2009-10 prices using 28 June 2011 GDP deflators. These are available from the following HM treasury web link together with further information about the methodology employed: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_gdp_index.htm (3) Provisional. (4) Database of School Records. Excludes academies and city technology colleges. (5) Figures are not sufficiently reliable. (6) Source: School Workforce Census. Includes academies and city technology colleges. Note  : Figures are rounded to the nearest £100.

Teachers: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers were employed in Newton Abbot constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: There were 280 full-time equivalent regular teachers in local authority maintained primary schools and 330 in secondary schools in Newton Abbot constituency in November 2010. The source of data provision is the November 2010 School Workforce Census and figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Further school workforce statistics are available from the Statistical First Release 'School Workforce In England, November 2010' which is available at the following web link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000997/index.shtml

Teachers: Sick Leave

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many days there were of sickness absence by teaching staff in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England on average per employee in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010.

Nick Gibb: In the academic year 2009-10 an average of 3.7 days sickness absence was taken by each teacher employed in local authority maintained nursery and primary schools. The equivalent figure for secondary schools was 4.5 days. The overall figure for teachers in all schools was 4.2 days. Teachers included were those employed on a contract of at least 28 days during the period.
	The information provided is from the School Workforce Census that was collected for the first time in November 2010 and provides absence data in respect of the academic year 2009-10. The information is not available broken down by phase of education for the calendar years 2009 and 2010 or any earlier years.
	Further information on teacher sickness absence including the historical comparisons that are available is published in table 18 of School Workforce in England, November 2010 (Provisional) Statistical First Release which is available at the following web link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/statistics-by-topic/a00196713/school-workforce-sfr

Teachers: Training

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what algorithm the Training and Development Agency uses to allocate quotas for initial teacher training places to training institutions.

Nick Gibb: The allocations by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) are based on the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) targets published by the Department for Education. For 2011/12, the 2010/11 baseline allocations were adjusted in response to the following factors: previous recruitment to ITT courses against targets over the past three years; the proportion of trainee teachers who have found employment as a teacher; and the ITT provider's Ofsted inspection reports and ratings.
	Full details of the TDA's methodology will be published on the agency's website this month along with the finalised allocations for 2011/12.

Teachers: Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2011, Official Report, column 1281-3W, on higher education: teachers, how many and what proportion of the mainstream initial teacher training places allocated to higher education institutions were (a) postgraduate courses and (b) undergraduate courses (i) at each higher education institution and (ii) in total in academic year (A) 2009-10, (B) 2010-11 and (C) 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 12 September  2011 
	The totals for all higher education institutions in England are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Allocated postgraduate and undergraduate i  nitial teacher training places—  Academic years: 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12: Coverage: England 
			  AY 2009/10 AY 2010/11 AY 2011/12 
			 Number of places    
			 Postgraduate 23,189 23,564 21,273 
			 Undergraduate 7,539 7,453 7,106 
			 Total 30,728 31,017 28,379 
			 Percentage of total    
			 Postgraduate 75 76 75 
			 Undergraduate 25 24 25 
			 Notes: 1. Correct as at 8 September 2011 (2011/12 allocations are subject to further change). 2. Allocated places exclude continuer places for multiple year courses. 3. Excludes postgraduate places allocated to school-centred initial teacher training providers, employment-based programmes and teach first places. 4. 2011/12 figures now reflect revisions as providers seek to align allocated numbers with recruitment activity. 2010/11 figures incorporate minor revisions. Source: TDA 
		
	
	A table showing the number of places allocated to each higher education institution by the Training and Development Agency for Schools in academic years 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 has been placed in the House Libraries.

Training and Development Agency: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much mainstream grant funding was allocated by the Training and Development Agency for Schools to (a) the University of York and (b) York St John University in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The Training and Development Agency for Schools allocated mainstream grant funding as follows to:
	(a) The University of York: (i) £453,332 in 1996-97 and (ii) £708,830 in 2011/12; and
	(b) York St John University: (i) £2,120,686 in 1996-97 and (ii) £3,386,370 in 2011/12.

University Technical Colleges

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the decision-making process is for the assessment of university technical college bids.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 12 September 2011
	Applications to establish a university technical college from September 2012 which were received by the application deadline of 1 June 2011 are being assessed by the Department against the published assessment criteria. These criteria relate to the educational vision and identity of the university technical college, the soundness of the educational plan, evidence of demand, organisational capability and capacity, the suitability of the proposed premises, and cost and financial viability. As part of the assessment process, a number of applicants were interviewed during August, and the decision on which UTC applications are approved to move to the next stage of development will be made around the end of September.

University Technical Colleges

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce his decision on the university technical college bids.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 12 September 2011
	The Department is still in the process of assessing the applications it has received to establish university technical colleges. An announcement will be made around the end of September about those that are approved to move to the next stage of development.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to reply to questions 68227, on care placements, and 68230, on special guardianship, tabled by the hon. Member for Chesterfield on 18 July 2011 for answer on 5 September.

Tim Loughton: The relevant information is as follows:
	PQ 68227 was answered on 12 September 2011, Official Report, column 984W.
	PQ 68230 was answered on 8 September 2011, Official Report, column 780W.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to respond to questions 68881, on looked after children, and 68882, on adoption, tabled by the hon. Member for Chesterfield on 20 July 2011 for answer on 6 September.

Tim Loughton: The relevant information is as follows:
	PQ 68881 was answered on 9 September 2011, Official Report, column 900W.
	PQ 68882 was answered on 9 September 2011, Official Report, column 881W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Ethiopia: Resettlement

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information his Department holds on the government of Ethiopia's villagization policy.

Stephen O'Brien: In February 2011, officials from DFID Ethiopia participated in a multi-agency assessment of villagisation (now officially known as the Commune programme) in the Gambella region of Ethiopia. The findings were captured in a report, which was shared with the Government of Ethiopia.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) holds a draft copy of the Government of Ethiopia's Commune Development Programme Plan for the Developing Regional States. This was received upon its release in March 2011. A final version of the plan has not been released.

Food Supply

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has had recent discussions with the Committee on World Food Security on the implementation of the recommendations of the report, The Future of Food and Farming.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department of International Development (DFID) in partnership with the foresight team will be hosting a side event at 37th Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome on Wednesday, 19 October. The side event will focus on the implementation of the report, The Future of Food and Farming', with recommendations submitted to the CFS for consideration.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Armed Conflict

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of stocks of chemical weapons held in Libya before the start of the recent uprising against Colonel Gaddafi.

Alistair Burt: Libya abandoned its weapons of mass destruction programme in 2003 and destroyed all its declared chemical weapons munitions (unfilled) by 1 March 2004. By the end of February 2011, Libya had also destroyed 54% of its chemical agent stocks and 39% of its precursor stocks.
	We have regularly raised with the National Transitional Council the importance of ensuring that the site where the stocks are located remains secured and of resuming destruction. We are also in close touch with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which has responsibility for international verification of compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Bahrain: Health Professions

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the recent trials of medical staff in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: I was pleased to hear on 7 September about the release on bail of the medical staff that were still being detained. I understand the final hearing will be on 29 September and hope that due process is being followed fully and transparently.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has stressed the need for Bahrain to meet all its human rights obligations and our Ambassador in Bahrain raised the specific case of the medical personnel with the Bahraini Minister of Justice in May. Staff from our embassy in Bahrain, along with other international colleagues, have attended the key trials.

Burma: Human Rights

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the establishment of a human rights commission in Burma; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: In advance of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of human rights in Burma in January, the UK asked the Burmese Government to explain whether the proposed National Human Rights Commission would operate with genuine independence and whether international monitors would be permitted to assess its operation, Burma's report to the Human Rights Council stated that an organisation will “emerge eventually” in accord with Paris Principles.
	The Burmese authorities announced the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission on 5 September. Our embassy is seeking to meet with members of the Commission at the earliest opportunity. We are clear that any such organisation should be independent and operate firmly in line with Paris Principles.

Burma: Political Prisoners

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with ASEAN on political prisoners in Burma.

Alistair Burt: The release of all political prisoners in Burma remains a long standing expectation of the international community. Aung San Suu Kyi's meeting with the Burmese president on 19 August, and the proposal raised in Burma's Parliament on 26 August for a general amnesty, are encouraging developments. However, the international community is watching closely for tangible outcomes, including the release of all political prisoners.
	We raise the need for to release political prisoners at every opportunity with the Burmese Government. It is an issue that we discuss in our systematic engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) governments on how to promote genuine progress in Burma. Over recent weeks we have discussed Burma with the governments of the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore as well as the ASEAN secretariat. We are working to secure the strongest possible resolution on Burma at the forthcoming UN General Assembly, reflecting our concerns, including the plight of political prisoners.

China

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of (a) the influence of the People's Republic of China in the Indian Ocean and (b) the effect of such influence on British interests.

Alistair Burt: Our assessment is that China is developing its economic and political relations with countries surrounding the Indian ocean, including through investments and infrastructure projects. The 2010 White Paper on ‘China's National Defence’ stated that the Chinese Navy had been developing its capabilities to conduct operations in distant waters.
	It is important for UK interests that China uses its growing economic, political and military weight in a responsible manner, in line with international norms and global interests. For example, we welcome China's constructive support for multilateral anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. We continue to step up our engagement with China through political, diplomatic and military channels on the full range of foreign and security policy issues. We expect, for example, to hold an official-level dialogue with China on South Asia issues soon.

Croatia: EU Enlargement

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what timetable he has set for the ratification by Parliament of Croatia's accession to the EU.

David Lidington: The ECOFIN Council of 12 July 2011 formally closed Croatia's EU accession negotiations. Negotiations on the drafting of the Accession treaty are expected to be concluded in time for signature before the end of 2011. The anticipated date of Croatia's accession is 1 July 2013, on which day the treaty shall enter into force providing that all 27 member states' and Croatia's instruments of ratification have been deposited before that date. .
	The provisions of the EU Act 2011 will apply to the UK's domestic ratification procedures. This Act requires that the UK cannot ratify the treaty unless a statement has been made in accordance with Section 5 of the Act, the treaty has been approved by an Act of Parliament and the referendum condition or exemption condition is met. The required statement under Section 5 of the Act as to whether the treaty falls within Section 4 must be made within two months of the date when the Accession Treaty is agreed. We therefore expect it to be made within two months of signature of the Accession treaty, expected in December 2011. The Government will introduce a Bill to ratify the Accession treaty when parliamentary time allows.

Human Rights

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that the human rights of ethnic minorities in Libya are protected during the period of transition to the new government.

Alistair Burt: The UK continues to raise with the National Transitional Council (NTC) the importance of protecting the rights of ethnic minorities in Libya, especially the Tuareg, Amazigh and Tebu. The UK missions in Tripoli and Benghazi have met representatives of minority communities on the NTC. The NTC has made clear its commitment to international humanitarian and human rights law. Article 6 of the NTC's Draft Constitutional Declaration states that 'all Libyans are equal before the law, enjoy equal civil and political rights and equal opportunities, have equal duties and public responsibilities, and are not discriminated against because of religion, faith, language, wealth, gender, ancestry, political views, social status or tribal, group or family affiliation'. Article 8 of the same document sets out that the Libyan state will guarantee equal opportunities to all citizens, including the provision of adequate living standards and right to work, education, healthcare and social security for every citizen. We welcome this emphasis and the NTC's commitment, and we will continue to raise the issue of minority rights. We will also explore the scope for provision of international support and expertise to the NTC in this area.

Iraq: Armed Conflict

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Turkish and Iranian governments on military action in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Alistair Burt: holding answer 14 September 2011
	It is for the Government of Iraq to decide whether to make representations to the Governments of Turkey and Iran over military actions against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and PJAK (Free Life Party of Kurdistan) within Iraq's borders. We have consistently called for co-operation with the Governments of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region over the threat in the border areas, and have expressed our concern about indiscriminate Iranian shelling.

Occupied Territories: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Israel over (a) the expansion of illegal settlements on the west bank, (b) the demolition of Palestinian homes on the west bank and (c) the demolition of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Our policy on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law. We look to the Government of Israel to take all necessary steps to prevent settlement construction.
	Most recently, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), issued the following statement on UK policy on settlements on 16 August:
	“I condemn the decision of the Israeli Government to build 277 housing units in the illegal West Bank settlement of Ariel, 16 kilometres inside the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israel has again ignored the calls of the international community to refrain from actions which make a return to negotiations more difficult. These repeated actions, illegal under international law, undermine confidence and threaten a two state solution.”
	The focus between the Israelis and the Palestinians should be on confidence-building steps with the aim of giving momentum to restarting negotiations. In this respect, house demolitions or the eviction of Palestinians from their homes are deeply unhelpful and cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians. We are aware that there has been an increase in demolitions in recent months, we continue to monitor the situation closely and issue statements when necessary.

UK Membership of EU

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the total annual cost of the UK's membership of the EU.

Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
	The latest forecast of the UK's contributions to the EU budget is set out in Table 2.16 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook of March 2011. This forecast will be updated in the autumn.

UN World Conference Against Racism

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's planned approach is regarding the UN World Conference Against Racism in September 2011.

Jeremy Browne: I will reply to the hon. Member shortly.
	Substantive answer from Alistair Burt to Stephen Twigg
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has today informed the House by written ministerial statement that the Government will not attend the high-level meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2001 World Conference against Racism on 22 September at the United Nations in New York.

UN World Conference Against Racism

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the UN World Conference Against Racism in September 2011.

Alistair Burt: holding answer 8 September 2011
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has today informed the House by written ministerial statement that the Government will not attend the high-level meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2001 World Conference against Racism on 22 September at the United Nations in New York.
	The Secretary of State has not spoken with his EU counterparts about the September meeting. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials held regular discussions with their EU colleagues about the meeting and kept the Secretary of State fully updated on developments.

TRANSPORT

Lane Rental

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely effects on congestion of the implementation of lane rental proposals.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely effects on congestion of the implementation of lane rental proposals.

Norman Baker: Street works are a significant cause of delay and disruption, contributing to congestion that is estimated to cost over £4 billion a year. A consultation is under way on regulations to enable a small number of targeted pilot schemes to be brought forward, which would inform future assessments of whether lane rental could usefully play a wider role in managing congestion.

Rail Travel

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of recent trends in levels of rail travel.

Theresa Villiers: Annual statistics for the year ending March 2011 published by the Office of Rail Regulation show that passenger travel rose during the year to reach an overall, all time high of 33.6 billion passenger miles. The number of rail journeys has been rising steadily each year since privatisation with only one slight drop in the total during 2009. Since then the upward trend has resumed to reach a total of 1.4 billion journeys undertaken. Long-distance rail travel has nearly doubled since privatisation.

Inland Waterways: Freight

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of freight carried on inland waterways.

Michael Penning: We continue to support the shift of freight from road to inland waterways, primarily through the Department's Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme. This assists companies with the operating costs of transporting freight by inland waterway, where this is more expensive than road and where there are environmental benefits (eg: lower carbon emissions).

Smart Ticketing

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with transport operators on the expansion of smart ticketing technologies.

Norman Baker: My officials and I meet regularly with transport operators to discuss the roll-out of smart ticketing technologies.
	The Government are strongly committed to rolling out smart and integrated ticketing as there are huge potential benefits for passengers, local authorities and operators. That is why we have committed to delivering, with operators and public sector bodies, the infrastructure to enable most public transport journeys to be undertaken using smart ticketing by December 2014.

Bus Services: Young People

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects of bus service reductions on young people; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: I am aware that, as a result of local decisions, in some areas of the country bus services are being reduced.
	Changes to services are a matter for bus operators and local transport authorities. While I am monitoring the overall impact, the Government do not and cannot make an assessment of every individual change.
	I would encourage all local authorities to ensure young people's ability to access education and leisure activities is not compromised. Local education authorities have statutory duties regarding travel to school—students must not be prevented from attending education because there is no bus service or the fare is unaffordable.

Driving: Sleep Apnoea

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet Ms Carol Upcraft to discuss her campaign to raise awareness about the contribution of sleep apnoea to road accidents.

Michael Penning: The Department is committed to raising awareness of obstructive sleep apnoea and driving. I would be happy to meet with the hon. Member and his constituent, Ms Carol Upcraft, to discuss her campaign.

Driving: Sleep Apnoea

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of road accidents where sleep apnoea was attributed as a cause in the last three years.

Michael Penning: Information on the number of injuries resulting from reported road accidents caused by drivers with specific medical conditions is not collected.
	The number of injury road accidents in Great Britain for which a police officer attended the scene and recorded the contributory factor 'Fatigue' was 1,812 in 2008, 1,806 in 2009 and 1,766 in 2010.
	The contributory factor 'Fatigue' is recorded in accidents in which the police officer's opinion at the time of reporting was that the driver/rider was unable to drive effectively or perceive hazards due to being too tired. This may or may not be due to a specific medical condition.

High Speed Trains: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) economic and (b) environmental benefits of including Scotland in the national high speed rail network.

Philip Hammond: Our vision is for a truly national high speed rail network. The proposals on which we are currently consulting include through-running services to Scotland, delivering significant journey time savings.
	If the Government makes the decision to progress the HS2 project, it will be delivered in phases. Phase 1, London to the West Midlands, phase 2 to Manchester and Leeds. I have indicated to the Scottish Government that once we have completed the legislative process for phase 2 it will be appropriate for us to engage with the Scottish Government on options future development of the network to Scotland.

Large Goods Vehicles: Sleep Apnoea

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness within the road haulage industry of the risks associated with undiagnosed sleep apnoea.

Michael Penning: The Department is committed to identifying opportunities to raise awareness of obstructive sleep apnoea. A number of initiatives are ongoing with commercial drivers including questioning them directly about it as part of their compulsory medicals for driver licensing purposes and sending our ‘Tiredness Can Kill’ leaflet to raise awareness of the condition with them and their employers.

Network Rail: Finance

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with Network Rail (a) the introduction of a fair payments policy and (b) the reduction of its current 60-day payment terms.

Theresa Villiers: This is an operational matter for Network Rail and not something in which the Government have the power to intervene.

Railways: Manufacturing Industries

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessments his Department has made of the risks to the train building supply chain in the UK since January 2011; and what support his Department (a) has and (b) plans to provide to small and medium-sized enterprises in the train building industry in the East Midlands.

Mark Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
	No such assessments have been carried out. However on 5 July the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), created an Economic Response Task Force to fully understand and mitigate the economic impact of job losses at Bombardier, its supply chain and the local communities.
	The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), have asked their officials to work together with the sector and key delivery partners, such as UK Trade and Investment, to support the train manufacturing sector and the wider rail supply chain in securing more sustainable UK jobs through clearly identified business opportunities such as the Intercity Express programme, Crossrail and High Speed 2.
	Additionally the Department's Solution's for Business offers a range of publically funded products and services designed to help businesses to overcome key challenges and—through UK Trade and Investment—explore export opportunities.

Road Traffic

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the economic costs of congestion on the road network.

Michael Penning: The 2006 Eddington Study estimated that, using the Department for Transport's National Transport Model, the direct costs of congestion to business could rise by £10 billion to £12 billion from 2003 to 2025 (in 2002 prices). Adding in the value of the lost time experienced by other travellers raises this figure to £23 billion to £24 billion per annum. This report is available at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/transportstrategy/eddingtonstudy/researchannexes/
	The following table provides estimates of the cost of congestion to business and other travellers in lost time in 2003 (in 2002 prices) in each English region.
	
		
			 Estimated cost of congestion by English region, 2003, at 2002 prices 
			 Region £ billion 
			 North-east 1.0 
			 Yorks and Humber 1.7 
			 East midlands 0.9 
			 Eastern England 1.2 
			 South-east 1.9 
			 London 5.3 
			 South-west 0.7 
		
	
	
		
			 West midlands 1.9 
			 North-west 1.9 
			 England total 16.5 
		
	
	These figures are based on the difference between the actual time taken to make a journey and the time that would be taken under theoretical 'free-flow' conditions. They do not necessarily represent the net benefit that would result from removing congestion.

Road Traffic

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by how much his Department expects traffic numbers on the major road network to change between 2011 and (a) 2020, (b) 2030 and (c) 2040.

Michael Penning: The latest estimate of outturn traffic on all major roads for Great Britain in 2010 is 197.4 billion vehicle miles:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/tra0102
	The latest published forecasts from the Department for Transport's National Transport Model (NTM) can be found at:
	http://www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/economics/ntm/forecasts2009/index.html
	Current forecasts from the NTM show traffic on all major roads in Great Britain increasing by 24% in the period 2010-25 and by 40% in the period 2010-35.

Roads: Accidents

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the causes of road accidents.

Michael Penning: It is not possible to identify the cause of reported personal injury road accidents from data collected through STATS19. However, Department for Transport collects statistics on contributory factors to accidents reported by the attending police officer.
	Information on reported contributory factors to road accidents, for Great Britain in 2009, can be found in Table 4a of Article 4 (‘Contributory factors to reported road accidents’) in our annual report, ‘Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2009’. A copy has been placed in the Libraries of the House, and it can also be found using the following link:
	http://www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/rrcgb2009.html
	The contributory factor article for reported accidents in Great Britain in 2010 will be published at the end of September 2011.
	Please note that contributory factors are reported only for injury road accidents where a police officer attended the scene and reported at least one contributory factor. These factors are largely subjective, reflecting the attending officer's opinion at the time of reporting. It is recognised that subsequent inquires could lead to the reporting officer changing his/her opinion.
	It is important to note that it may be difficult for a police officer, attending the scene after an accident has occurred, to identify certain factors that may have contributed to a cause of an accident.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the financial model used to assess bids for the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 11 July 2011
	An unpopulated blank template of the financial model has been published on the DFT website.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulations govern the (a) Intercity Express Programme and (b) Thameslink Rolling Stock procurements.

Theresa Villiers: The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 govern both the Intercity Express Programme and Thameslink rolling stock procurements.

CABINET OFFICE

British Sky Broadcasting

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office has spent £6,887 on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010.
	The Emergency Planning College (EPC) in York has separate arrangements in place and pays for a commercial contract.
	Additionally, the National School of Government's residential training site at Sunningdale Park, Ascot is operated by De Vere Venues under the terms of a PFI contract which includes televisions. The National School pays inclusive delegate rates for its use of the facilities and thus is unable to identify any charges in respect of the provision of these televisions.

Departmental Procurement

Joan Walley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the effect of procurement policy in relation to small and medium-sized enterprises on the creation of local jobs.

Francis Maude: Local authorities are responsible for their own procurement policies and decisions, but many choose to follow central Government policies and practices, which are published on the Cabinet Office website and disseminated to local authorities via procurement policy notes. Baroness Eaton, Chair of the Local Government Group, has signalled local government support for the measures the Government announced on 11 February to make it easier for SMEs to compete for public sector contracts.
	Where SMEs are successful in bidding for contracts, they are often local companies providing local employment.

Employment: Birmingham

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of lower skilled jobs at Levels One and Two available in Birmingham, Ladywood on 1 September in each year from 2006 to 2011.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate he has made of the number of lower skilled jobs at Levels One and Two available in Birmingham, Ladywood on 1 September in each year from 2006 to 2011.
	Estimates of vacancies for the UK as a whole are obtained from the ONS Vacancy Survey, which is the most complete source of vacancy information. Local area estimates are obtained from vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus, but Jobcentre Plus vacancies account for around half of the total number of vacancies as reported by the Vacancy Survey.
	Table 1 shows the number of live unfilled Jobcentre Plus vacancies for Birmingham, Ladywood for skill levels 1 and 2. Data has been provided for the August period for 2006 to 2011 as the latest data available is for the period August 2011.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: The number of skill levels  (1 )  1 and 2 job vacancies in Birmingham, Ladywood   parliamentary   constituency 
			 As at August each year Skill level 1 Skill level 2 Total skill levels 1 and 2 
			 2006 1,172 680 1,852 
			 2007 1,406 310 1,716 
			 2008 1,091 271 1,362 
			 2009 700 164 864 
			 2010 1,152 328 1,480 
			 2011 956 467 1,423 
			 (1) Skills levels are defined based on Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) 2000. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system

Ex-servicemen

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has any plans to appoint a Minister within his Department with responsibility for the welfare of current and former military personnel.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 15 July 2010, Official  R eport, column 864W.

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) transaction date, (b) transaction amount and (c) supplier was of each transaction undertaken by the Central Office of Information using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10; and which of these transactions attracted level three or enhanced transaction entry.

Francis Maude: I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Emma Lochhead ,  dated 7 September 2011
	As Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question 70833 regarding transactions made using the Government Procurement Card (GPC).
	The Central Office of Information (COI) uses the Government Procurement Card as it is an efficient way of processing low value transactions.
	The Government is committed to transparency and we believe the information regarding Government Procurement Cards for this financial year is the most relevant. Central Government Departments will be publishing any transactions over £500 on their websites, starting with 2011/2012 Quarter 1 (April-June) data at the end of September and then on a monthly basis.
	The cost required to obtain, contextualise and report data for the last 3 years would exceed the cost limits of a Freedom of Information request or a Parliamentary question.

Mystery Shopper Complaints Scheme

Simon Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in respect of which contracts complaints have been submitted through the mystery shopper complaints scheme; which complaints (a) were investigated, (b) had no further action taken, (c) were passed on to the relevant procurement body, (d) had a review ordered, (e) resulted in a change to the terms of a contract and (f) resulted in a decision by the contracting authority to cancel the contract.

Francis Maude: The Government have published the issues and the resolution of the cases investigated by the mystery shopper service in the first three months of the scheme between February and May 2011. I refer the hon. Member to this report, which can be found at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/mystery-shopper
	Further reports will be issued in due course.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new non-departmental public bodies have been established since May 2010.

Francis Maude: Since May 2010, the Government have established and classified four new NDPBs which were not previously in existence in another form. In addition a small number of bodies are proposed in legislation which is currently subject to Parliamentary consideration.

Public Sector: Procurement

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small and medium-sized enterprises have participated in the SME Product Surgery scheme.

Francis Maude: Three SME Product Surgeries have been held to date. Five SMEs participated in the first, held by the Department for Transport in Birmingham on 17 June; 32 SMEs participated in a Product Surgery on the 29 July organised by the Ministry of Justice; and nine were chosen from over 350 proposals submitted to the Innovation Launch Pad to take part in the Product Surgery, held in London on 19 July. At least six further Product Surgeries are being planned with Departments for later in the year.
	The Cabinet Office is encouraging SMEs to register their interest in participating in future Product Surgeries by contacting the Cabinet Office service desk.

Sick Leave: Civil Service

John Stevenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information he holds on the number of days of sickness absence in the civil service on average per employee in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Francis Maude: The average number of days of sickness absence in the civil service per person and staff year for (a) 2009 and (b) 2010 are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1: Average working days lost per person  (1)   and staff year  (2)   in the civil service, 2009 and 2010 
			  Average working days lost per person Average days working lost per staff year 
			 2010 7.6 8.3 
			 2009 7.7 8.7 
			 (1) Average working days lost per person—the total number of working days lost across the year divided by the total number of employees during the year. (2) Average working days lost per staff year—the total number of working days lost across the year divided by the total number of potential staff years. Source: Quarterly Sickness Absence Data, Cabinet Office 
		
	
	More information on sickness absence is available on the civil service statistics website at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/who/statistics/sickness.aspx

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Manpower

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff in each pay band in his Department are working on policy on Lord Leveson's inquiry into the media;
	(2)  how many full-time equivalent staff in each pay band in his Department were working for the Endowment Fund panel (a) on 1 December 2010 and (b) in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many full-time equivalent staff in each pay band in his Department are working on policy on matters within the order of reference of the Joint Committee on Superinjunctions;
	(4)  how many full-time equivalent staff in each pay band in his Department (a) were working on 1 December 2010 and (b) are working on (i) digital switchover, (ii) heritage, (iii) libraries, (iv) the National Lottery, (v) horse racing, (vi) gambling, (vii) licensing, (viii) the London 2012 Olympic Games, (ix) sport, (x) tourism, (xi) implementation of the Digital Economy Act 2010, (xii) broadband, (xiii) the May Day Bank Holiday Review, (xiv) the live entertainment consultation, (xv) cultural education, (xvi) spectrum, (xvii) sporting governance and (xviii) intellectual property policy;
	(5)  how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department in each pay band were working for the Creative Industries Council (a) on 1 December 2010 and (b) in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(6)  how many full-time equivalent staff in each pay band in his Department (a) were working on 1 December 2010 and (b) are working on the proposed Communications Bill;
	(7)  how many full-time equivalent staff in each pay band in his Department (a) were working on 1 December 2010 and (b) are working on policy on local television.

Jeremy Hunt: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has operated a fully flexible resourcing system since April 2011. This model enables the Department to quickly adapt to changing priorities by targeting resources in order to meet our departmental objectives. The Department operated a more limited model of flexible resourcing from 2008 onwards in which some individuals were in a flexible pool but others were in standing teams dedicated to specific policy areas. As individuals are deployed flexibly across our entire remit, we do not have the data to provide complete FTE figures broken down to specific policies.

Football Governance

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to publish the Government's response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's Seventh Report of the current session on Football Governance.

Jeremy Hunt: I am grateful to the Select Committee for their report on Football Governance, which contains a strong set of recommendations and conclusions. The Department expects to publish the Government response shortly.

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry of each individual transaction undertaken by the Olympic Delivery Authority using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Hugh Robertson: The Department does not collate this information for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of the ODA to write directly to my hon. Friend with this information.

National Lottery

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has any statutory powers of direction in respect of use of Big Lottery funds.

John Penrose: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport has no such powers. The responsibility for the Big Lottery Fund now rests with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Olympic Games 2012: Tickets

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what information his Department holds on the number of tickets sold for the London 2012 Olympic Games by parliamentary constituency.

Hugh Robertson: The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is the private company operating independently of Government that is responsible for staging the London 2012 Games, including the ticketing arrangements. LOCOG has not broken down London 2012 ticket applications or sales by parliamentary constituency. Ticket applications were split approximately equally between London, the wider south-east and the rest of the UK.

Telephone Calls: Unsolicited Goods and Services

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received on nuisance and repeat sales calls to commercial numbers; whether he plans to take steps to prohibit such calls; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: No representations have been received on this particular issue. Safeguards are already in place through the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR), which provides protection to commercial numbers. Unsolicited marketing calls are not allowed to be made to a number that is registered with the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) scheme. The CTPS scheme was introduced in 2004 and to date about 1.8 million numbers are registered with them. Further detailed information about the CTPS can be found using the link:
	http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/ctps/what

Television

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress has been made on launching local television stations; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), recently announced 65 locations that have the opportunity to pioneer commercially viable local TV across the UK for the first time. They will be supported by a new framework, with the first licences awarded during the course of next year.

Television: Licensing

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has considered the merits of lowering to 65 the age at which individuals are eligible for free TV licence.

Edward Vaizey: The Government are satisfied with the current range of concessionary television licences and no consideration is being given to extending this range.

Tourism: Cumbria

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to provide information on attractions (a) in Cumbria and (b) nationally during the London 2012 Olympics.

John Penrose: The Government's plans for promoting the growth of the visitor economy are set out in detail in the paper, “Government Tourism Policy” published in March 2011, and available at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7896.aspx
	Over the next four years VisitBritain will be running the "You're Invited" programme, which will capitalise on the international interest in the recent royal wedding, as well as next year's diamond jubilee and Olympic and Paralympic Games, and showcase Britain to the world. The programme aims to attract 4 million extra visitors, spending £2 billion in the UK economy, which will support businesses, jobs and growth. The programme is backed by a £100 million marketing fund, funded by the public and private sector. Visitor attractions in Cumbria and across the country will be featured in this promotion.
	VisitBritain publishes the:
	www.Tourism2012Games.org
	website in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to help tourism businesses and organisations across the UK to connect with short and long term opportunities provided by the Games and to play their part in delivering a world-class welcome to visitors in 2012 and beyond. VisitBritain is a leader in the use of social media for tourism marketing and the team has already visited Cumbria to inform businesses how they can get involved. The third part of the roll out of the marketing campaign wilt be a social media campaign due to go live towards the end of the year.
	During the Games period itself, information on Britain, including Cumbria, will be disseminated through both the London Media Centre, and the main Media Centre at the Olympic Park.
	VisitEngland is working closely with local areas and destinations, in line with Government's localism agenda, to grow the value of local tourism economies. This is co-ordinated through the National Strategic Framework for Tourism, which includes an action programme developed in consultation with the tourism sector.
	VisitEngland is currently working with destinations across the country, including Cumbria, on a campaign to deliver economic growth from the domestic market, and to support employment and job creation. This will maximise the impact of the unique events of 2012, including the Queens diamond jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, helping to spread the benefits of the Games outside London and maintain a legacy of domestic tourism growth.

JUSTICE

Civil Disorder

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of those charged as a result of the August 2011 public disorder who have previously (a) served a custodial sentence, (b) been released early from a custodial sentence, (c) worn a tag and (d) served a community sentence.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many persons arrested in connection with the August 2011 public disorder in England and Wales were remanded into custody following a first hearing;
	(2)  how many persons convicted of offences in connection with the August 2011 public disorder in England and Wales have been jailed to date.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice is currently publishing frequent updates on people being dealt with by the court system in relation to the disturbances on 6-9 August. These reports can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/ad-hoc/index.htm
	As the publication notes the chief statistician will review the quality of data and release further breakdowns as reliable data become available. A more detailed release will be published on 15 September containing detailed information on age, gender, offence committed, sentence given, and previous criminal history.

Civil Disorder

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were charged with the offence of rioting under section one of the Public Order Act 1986, in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: Persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for rioting under section 1 of the Public Order Act 1986 in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Charging data are not collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice; prosecutions data are provided in lieu.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in spring, 2012.
	
		
			 Persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for rioting under section 1 of the Public Order Act 1986, England and Wales, 2008-10  (1,2,3,) 
			 Offence 2008 2009 2010 
			 Riot 15 14 — 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Contingent Fee

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effects of implementing his proposals on reform of contingent fee arrangements on access to justice for individuals in each decile of the population by income.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government are proposing to allow the use of Damages-based Agreements, also known as contingency fees, in civil litigation in England and Wales. This proposal is being taken forward in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which is currently before Parliament. The Bill also includes proposals on 'no win no fee' conditional fee agreements.
	The Government published an Impact Assessment alongside its consultation response 'Reforming Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Recommendations: The Government Response', column 8041, on 29 March 2011. This Impact Assessment identifies potential impacts on individuals, groups and businesses.

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry of each transaction undertaken by HM Courts Service using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice is committed to transparency and will be publishing details of all Government Procurement Card transactions over £500 on its website. Data for 2011-12 Quarter 1 (April-June) will be published by the end of September with Quarter 2 (July-September) following at the end of October. Transaction data will then be published monthly one month in arrears.
	The work required to obtain, contextualise and report data for HM Courts Service for 2008-09 and 2009-10 would be at disproportionate costs and will not therefore be published.

Homicide: Sentencing

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to update Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to require judges to sentence individuals found guilty of a hate crime murder to a mandatory minimum terms of 30 years.

Kenneth Clarke: Schedule 21 of the 2003 Act provides guidance to judges in determining the minimum term of a mandatory life sentence for murder. It provides for starting points not mandatory minimum terms. Schedule 21 provides for a starting point of 30 years for a murder aggravated by hostility towards the victim on the basis of race, religion, and sexual orientation, but not disability. We are aware of this anomaly and we are currently looking at the best way to address it. However, it is important to bear in mind that the courts can, and do, aggravate sentence in cases of hate crime whatever form it might take.

Immigration

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people have been convicted of offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 for holding someone in slavery or servitude or requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour;
	(2)  in how many cases where a conviction has been secured under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 the victim (a) had been trafficked, (b) was British and (c) had an immigration status which allowed them to work in the UK.

Crispin Blunt: Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 came into force in April 2010. There have been no reports of any convictions under this Act in 2010 (latest available).
	Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not contain information about the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute under which proceedings are brought. Information is not held on a victim's nationality and immigration status. It is not possible to identify whether the victim had been trafficked.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring, 2012.

Prisoners: Ex-servicemen

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will conduct a study involving (a) all prisons or (b) more than one prison to ascertain how many former military personnel are in the prison system.

Crispin Blunt: In September 2010, MOJ and Defence Analytical Services Advice (DASA) published the results of joint work to determine the number of regular ex-service personnel in prison in England and Wales. The report provided a figure of 2,280 ex-service personnel that were serving a sentence in prison in England and Wales.
	This remains the most comprehensive and reliable piece of research on this matter to date and we have no current plans to repeat the exercise as there is no evidence to suggest that the proportion of veterans within the prison population has changed significantly.

Remand In Custody

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of the production of pre-sentence reports for courts in each of the last three years.

Kenneth Clarke: Full information about these costs is not currently available. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is developing systems to report expenditure on a service by service basis. This information will be published in autumn 2012 through the Government's Transparency Agenda.

Sexual Offences: Prisoners’ Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of those convicted of (a) sexual offences involving children, (b) rape and (c) murder have been granted unsupervised day release from (i) prison and (ii) another secure unit in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of unescorted day resettlement releases given to prisoners serving sentences for murder or rape, England and Wales 2007 to 30 June 2009 (latest period at which the requested level of detail are available) are provided in the following table.
	These data relate to the number of releases and not the number of prisoners. One prisoner may be released on a number of occasions, for example, where they are engaged in paid or unpaid work in the community. From the data held centrally, it is not possible to separately identify from those prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences, which were for sexual offences against children.
	
		
			 Unescorted day resettlement releases  (1)   for prisoners serving sentences for murder, rape and all offences  (2) 
			 Offence 2007 2008 2009 
			 Murder 46,284 38,107 17,841 
			 Rape 1,097 2,035 1,118 
			 All offences 422,813 414,512 189,810 
			 (1) Figures relate to the number of day resettlement releases given and not the number of prisoners who received them (a prisoner may have more than one resettlement release). (2) January to June. Note: The data presented in this table are drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 
		
	
	Release on temporary licence is unavailable to juveniles held in Secure Children's Home or Secure Training Centres but such offenders may be released temporarily under the mobility process. It is generally supervised. Since these data have been collected there have been no unsupervised releases for offenders convicted of the offences requested in the question.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Commonwealth

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance his Department provides to the Commonwealth Business Council; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: This Department's work with the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) is principally through UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). Their complementary work means that UKTI and the CBC keep each other informed regarding their activities, and that they co-operate where appropriate. For example, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, will be a keynote speaker at the CBC's Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth, Western Australia in October 2011, and UKTI was an official partner for CBC's Power Summit 2011 (conference on the energy sector in March 2011).

Banks: Competition

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on competition within the banking sector;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the proportion of small businesses that have applied for bank finance in each month since January 2011;
	(3)  what information his Department holds on the proportion of small businesses that have had their applications for finance turned down in each month since January 2011.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer (71257) I provided for my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mr Binley), today.

Banks: Competition

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on competition within the banking sector.

Mark Prisk: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), meet regularly to discuss a number of matters relating to the economy. This includes discussion of competition in the banking sector.
	As set out in the coalition agreement, the Government are committed to fostering diversity in the provision of financial services, and to creating a more competitive banking industry.

Business

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will respond to the findings of the British Chambers of Commerce Workforce Survey—Micro Businesses.

Mark Prisk: I welcome the British Chamber of Commerce's Workforce Survey on micro businesses, following on from their June survey of sole traders—and I look forward to seeing further publications in the same series. The distinctive feature of this series is that it helpfully shows how issues are perceived differently by businesses of different sizes. The comments on experience and perceptions of employment law are a particularly helpful input to the current review in this area.

Business Links

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which businesses and business groups his Department has consulted on (a) the effectiveness of Business Link to date and (b) improvements that could be made to advice given through Business Link.

Mark Prisk: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consulted on the effectiveness of business support delivery and what improvements could be made to the Business Link service with, representatives from; the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Forum of Private Business (FPB), the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Institute of Directors (IoD), with a group of independent entrepreneurs including members of the Secretary of State's Entrepreneurs Forum, and, through the business representative bodies, via workshops in every English region involving business support practitioners, providers (including; Enterprise Agencies), local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's).
	(b) Improvements identified included;
	A preference for advice to business provided by peer networks, professionals and intermediaries such as accountants and banks;
	Government funding for targeted face to face advice to be aimed at SMEs with high growth potential;
	Easier access to business information, advice on regulation and Government transactions on the Business Link website and the ability to personalise content; and
	Government not to duplicate private sector provision.
	New online services are being developed with experts in the relevant subject matter and tested with prospective SME users.

Business: Bank Services

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the level of competition in the provision of banking services for small businesses.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer (71256) I provided for my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mr Binley), today.

Business: Civil Disorder

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications his Department has received for the High Street Support Scheme to date.

Mark Prisk: To date 35 local authorities have indicated that they intend to claim against the High Street Support Scheme. Information about the number of applications for support from businesses will be available when those local authorities submit their detailed claims for reimbursement to Government, for which the deadline is 3 November.

Business: Civil Disorder

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has had discussions with representatives of the British Bankers Association on steps to ensure that small businesses affected by public disorder in August 2011 have access to finance required to return to business.

Mark Prisk: I met with the Metropolitan Police Service and a group of business stakeholders, including the British Bankers Association, during the period in which the riots were occurring. At this meeting we discussed the key actions to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the situation.
	BIS officials worked with the British Bankers Association to ensure that small businesses had the information needed regarding contacting their banks and getting support. This included using the Business Link website to disseminate information on the special measures introduced by banks to support their SME customers affected by the riots.
	Some banks have responded to the recent disorder by offering interest and fee-free loans to SMEs affected. Also some banks have made donations to assist the recovery, including to the charitable High Street Fund organised by Sir William Castell.

Business: Entry Clearances

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from business organisations on the immigration cap since 1 June 2011.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has ongoing contact with business representatives from across all sectors on migration issues.
	Since June 2011 we have had representations about the impact of the Tier 2 limit on business forward planning.

Business: Industrial Health and Safety

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2011, Official Report, column 1192W, on business: industrial health and safety, what assessment he has made of the recommendations in the (a) Davidson Review: Implementation of EU Legislation and (b) British Chamber of Commerce report on Health and Safety concerning exemptions from some health and safety legislation for people who are self-employed in low risk sectors.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 13 September 2011
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has an established working relationship with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and I am delighted that this Government are implementing the recommendations from my noble Friend Lord Young of Graffham's recent review of Health and Safety (H&S) in the UK. He made a number of recommendations that are designed through their emphasis on the importance of a risk-based approach to H&S to reduce the burden of compliance with H&S requirements on Small and Medium Enterprises and micro-businesses, including self-employed people. A further review of H&S legislation (both domestic and EU) has been commissioned by the Minister of State for Employment, Department for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling). The review is being led by Professor Ragnar Loefstedt and I expect him to set out his views on whether we can sensibly make further simplifications and/or exemptions to H&S regulations.

Business: Loans

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions he has met the Federation of Small Businesses to discuss affordable bank finance.

Mark Prisk: As with all key stakeholders and partners, I meet with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) frequently both bilaterally and through forums such as the Small Business Economic Forum which I chair and which meets quarterly, bringing together Ministers and SME representative bodies together with other ad hoc participants such as the banks. My discussions with the FSB encompass a broad range of subjects, including issues relating to affordable bank finance.

Business: Loans

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of small businesses applied for bank finance in each month since January 2011.

Mark Prisk: The SME Finance Monitor shows that 15% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had applied for a new loan or overdraft, or renewed an existing facility, in the last 12 months.
	BIS's Annual Small Business Survey 2010 found that 26% of SMEs had applied for finance in the preceding 12 months. This survey excludes businesses with no employees, which are included in the SME Finance Monitor survey. Evidence shows that the use of external finance increases with the size of a business.
	The Bank of England's Credit Conditions survey reported a marked increase in demand for credit from small businesses in Quarter 2 2011, following a sharp fall in Quarter 1.

Business: Loans

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times he has met representatives of the Federation of Small Businesses to discuss affordable bank finance for small businesses.

Mark Prisk: As with all key stakeholders and partners, I meet with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) frequently both bilaterally and through forums such as the Small Business Economic Forum which I chair and which meets quarterly, bringing together Ministers and SME representative bodies together with other ad hoc participants such as the banks.

Business: Loans

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of competition in the banking sector in respect of financing for small businesses.

Mark Prisk: The Government recognise that the UK's banking sector is highly concentrated. We established the Independent Commission on Banking, part of whose remit was to consider how to promote competition in both retail and investment banking. This included recommendations around measures to promote stability and competition for the benefit of consumers and businesses. The Commission published its final report on 12 September. The Government welcome the report and will be responding before the end of this year.
	The Commission's final report states that the financial crisis had led to a significant increase in concentration of the UK banking market. It states that in 2010, the four biggest banks held 85% of small and medium-sized enterprise business current accounts.
	The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), recently met with a panel of new entrant and smaller UK banks, where they discussed entry and expansion in the UK banking market, including business banking.

Business: Loans

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the proportion of small businesses that had their applications for finance to a bank turned down in each month since January 2011.

Mark Prisk: BIS collect data on loans and overdrafts to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from each of the four main lenders, estimated to cover c.75% of the market.
	This data shows that approvals for SMEs with less than £1 million turnover have moved within fairly narrow bands of around 80% for overdraft applications and 70% for loan applications.
	The independent SME Finance Monitor survey found that, over the past 12 months, 72% of overdraft applications and 59% of loan applications were approved in the first instance. At the end of the process, 85% of applications for overdrafts resulted in the business receiving an overdraft and 66% of loan applications resulted in the business receiving a loan. 12% of overdraft applications and 27% of loan applications resulted in the business not receiving finance.

Business: Urban Areas

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to enhance the long-term viability of town centres.

Mark Prisk: On 17 May we announced that Mary Portas had been appointed to lead an independent review into the future of the high street. She was asked by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to identify what the Government, local authorities and businesses can do to create diverse, sustainable high streets where small businesses and independent retailers are able to thrive. Mary Portas is engaging with not just retailers, but all high street businesses, the public sector and the third sector to identify what the Government, local authorities, businesses and the third sector can do to create diverse and sustainable high streets. This includes considering how best to develop high streets that contribute to promoting economic growth, creating jobs and improving the quality of life in local areas.
	The Government's plan for growth, published alongside Budget 2011, committed BIS and the Department for Communities and Local Government to develop a package of measures to support thriving town centres and build on the Town Centre First Policy. The Mary Portas High Streets Review will be contributing to this work.
	In addition, we have published the “Healthy High Street Guide” to help communities recognise decline in their high streets and take appropriate action. It is a practical guide for local businesses and people, which they can use to evaluate their shopping areas, and draw up a plan of action to improve them. It can also be used by communities to look at what their retailers offer, what is available elsewhere in the area, and what can be done to develop these offerings in a complementary way.

Businesses: Fraud

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information and advice on fraud awareness and prevention (a) is provided to start-up businesses via the current Business Link service and (b) will be provided by the new Business Link service from November 2011.

Mark Prisk: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Under current arrangements, the regional development agencies who manage the Business Link regional service in England support start-up businesses. As part of this support they distribute No-Nonsense Guides, produced in conjunction with Government Departments, which give businesses clear and jargon-free information about the legal, official and financial aspects of setting up and running a business (including legal structures, data protection, patent and credit protection, to help prevent fraud).
	These guides are available on the Business Link website:
	www.businesslink.gov.uk
	with other sources of information and practical support to help businesses (including start-ups) to safeguard their business against the latest scams and stings. In additional, useful contacts details are available to report any potential fraud and get help if a victim.
	(b) This information will still be available to businesses after November 2011 and businesses experiencing difficulty accessing it will also be able to get help through the new Business Link helpline.

Civil Disorder

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost of the public disorder in August 2011 to businesses in the London Borough of Southwark.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 13 September 2011
	No estimates of the costs to businesses in Southwark are available.
	Southwark borough has indicated its intention to claim against Government's £20 million High Street Support scheme. It is expected that the borough will be amongst the largest recipients of funding when their detailed claim is submitted.

Departmental Air Travel

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what occasions he has flown on official business (a) by budget airline and (b) in economy class in the last 12 months.

Edward Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), flew economy class to Russia in November 2010. Both officials and Ministers travel economy class for short-haul flights and business class for long-haul flights. Where there is a requirement for a Minister to travel first class the difference in cost is reimbursed to the Department.

Departmental Training

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the (a) date, (b) location, (c) number of attendees and (d) cost to the public purse was for each (i) away day and (ii) team building activity organised for staff in his Department between June 2001 and May 2002.

Edward Davey: BIS was formed through a Machinery of Government (MoG) change that occurred in June 2009. The Department was created by merging The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). Neither of these two predecessor Departments existed in 2001-02.
	The current arrangements within the Department are that these type of events are organised at local level and funded from individual group or directorate budgets. We do not hold a central record of when these activities take place and the respective costs.

Employment: Foreign Investment in UK

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs (a) created and (b) safeguarded by foreign direct investment from other EU member states in each year since 1981; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The following table shows the Department's estimate of the number of jobs created and safeguarded by foreign direct investment (FDI) to the UK from other EU member states from fiscal year 1984/85 onwards. Data are not available for fiscal years 1981/82 to 1983/84. Data have not been provided on a consistent EU27 basis, but is based on EU membership during the years in question.
	
		
			 Jobs created/safeguarded by FDI from other EU member states (MS) to UK 
			  Number of MS excluding UK Jobs created Jobs safeguarded 
			 1984/85 9 3,091 2,837 
			 1985/86 9 4,619 2,446 
			 1986/87 11 4,860 1,561 
			 1987/88 11 5,915 9,433 
			 1988/89 11 6,788 6,370 
			 1989/90 11 6,426 12,464 
			 1990/91 11 5,141 18,061 
			 1991/92 11 5,722 14,212 
			 1992/93 11 4,550 20,727 
			 1993/94 11 5,031 43,492 
			 1994/95 11 6,930 15,154 
			 1995/96 14 10,492 18,103 
			 1996/97 14 5,777 9,474 
			 1997/98 14 10,249 18,881 
		
	
	
		
			 1998/99 14 9,918 18,123 
			 1999/2000 14 8,701 24,307 
			 2000/01 14 15,708 8,567 
			 2001/02 14 11,187 7,649 
			 2002/03 14 11,381 4,650 
			 2003/04 14 8,199 12,324 
			 2004/05 24 11,950 11,755 
			 2005/06 24 9,388 10,070 
			 2006/07 26 10,142 13,085 
			 2007/08 26 16,163 20,080 
			 2008/09 26 11,432 17,848 
			 2009/10 26 12,074 11,887 
			 2010/11 26 12,532 14,104 
			 Source: UK Trade and Investment

Foreign Investment in UK

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2011, Official Report, column 494W, on inward investment, how much inward investment has been agreed at events hosted by Royal Navy vessels since 2010.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) plays a key role in attracting inward investment to the UK, providing support to foreign owned companies considering the UK as a potential location. UKTI does not centrally collect data showing the value of inward investment agreed at networking events, including those hosted on Royal Navy vessels, as investment decisions are typically based on a variety of factors. UKTI does record the number of FDI projects entering the UK each year, including those projects supported by UKTI. In 2010/11 UKTI significantly assisted 849 of 1,434 projects, more than ever before, with 49,898 associated jobs.

Foreign Investment in UK

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2011, Official Report, column 494W, on inward investment, what plans his Department has to co-operate with the Royal Navy in order to increase the frequency of events similar to the involvement of HMS Ocean in the UK-Brazil seminar on defence and security co-operation; and whether future such events will be funded by his Department.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation regularly liaises with the Ministry of Defence to identify where the best opportunities exist to promote defence and security exports taking into account the operational programme of the Royal Navy. Two such events are planned at present. The additional costs of those events are met by contributions from the industry exhibitors.

Foreign Investment in UK

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage inward investment from Australia and New Zealand.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 12 September 2011
	To ensure the UK retains a strong pipeline of high quality investment projects from overseas, steps include the introduction of a more integrated national business model to support inward investment, ensuring that investors always see the very best the UK has to offer; a genuinely cross-Government approach to strategic relationship management of key global investors; action to ensure that the UK's tax regime and planning regulations build investor confidence; action to ensure our regulatory system is proportionate and encourages growth; and encouragement of specific infrastructure investment.
	UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has dedicated investment teams in Australia and New Zealand. In 2010-11:
	53 investment projects from Australia located or expanded in the UK—35 assisted by UKTI;
	15 investment projects from New Zealand located or expanded in the UK—14 assisted by UKTI.

Foreign Investment in UK

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the dates of any discussions between UK Trade and Investment and the office of the First Minister of Wales in the last 12 months; and what the subject was of any such discussion.

Mark Prisk: Meetings between my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Investment (Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint)and the First Minister of Wales took place on 2 February 2011 and 28 March 2011. Discussions at both meetings centred around the current trade and investment climate for businesses and how we might develop closer links between UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Welsh Government.
	UKTI officials are in regular contact with trade and investment colleagues in the Welsh Government. The Welsh Government, along with the other devolved Administrations, play an active role on the International Business Development Forum (IBDF) which is the main engagement mechanism for co-ordinating the UK effort on trade and inward investment activity. IBDF meets every three months with the next meeting scheduled to take place on 28 September 2011.

Higher Education: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people resident in the City of York started a degree course in (a) 1996, (b) 2005, (c) 2009 and (d) the latest year for which figures are available.

David Willetts: The latest available data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is shown in the table. Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will be available in January 2012.
	
		
			 Young  (1)   first degree entrants from York local authority  (2)   UK higher education institutions  (3)  —Academic years 1996/97, 2005/06 and 2009/10 
			 Academic year Entrants 
			 1996/97 515 
			 2005/06 795 
			 2009/10 840 
			 Note: Figures are based on snapshot at 1 December and have been rounded to the nearest five. (1) Young covers entrants aged under 21. (2) Excludes entrants whose local authority could not be established due to missing or invalid postcode information. (3) Excludes the Open University due to inconsistencies in their coding of entrants across the time series. Also excludes entrants studying HE courses at further education institutions. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Higher Education: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding per (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate student his Department has allocated to (i) the University of York and (ii) York St John University in each year since 1998.

David Willetts: This information is not held in the form requested, but it is possible to provide notional figures for the amount of grant distributed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for teaching and research apportioned by the number of learners (full-time equivalent) in each year. It should be noted that there have been some significant changes in HEFCE's funding methodology over this period which means that the following table should not be read as a time series. In addition the data do not take account of other sources of public funding, for example from the NHS or the research councils. Crucially it should be borne in mind that institutions have a significant degree of freedom in terms of how their grant is distributed internally. It is for that reason that the figures given are notional and should not be read as the actual level of resource attached to any particular learner.
	
		
			 £ per academic year 
			  York St John University University of York 
			 Study level  : UG PGT PGR UG PGT PGR 
			 1998-99 2,276 418 1,185 2,942 1,842 6,332 
			 1999-2000 2,355 477 1,898 3,008 1,964 6,593 
			 2000-01 2,540 429 1,258 3,083 2,005 6,452 
			 2001-02 2,707 594 1,715 3,118 1,920 6,686 
			 2002-03 2,752 222 954 3,159 1,720 7,275 
			 2003-04 2,988 440 662 3,110 1,663 7,985 
			 2004-05 3,522 359 1,458 3,344 1,484 8,515 
			 2005-06 3,695 350 n/a 3,438 1,540 6,210 
			 2006-07 3,897 509 n/a 3,668 1,672 5,149 
			 2007-08 4,075 642 n/a 3,895 1,828 5,854 
			 2008-09 4,078 927 n/a 4,088 1,911 5,806 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 3,699 687 4,808 3,864 728 5,268 
			 2010-11 3,608 371 4,366 3,768 718 4,922 
			 Key: UG: Undergraduate PGT: Postgraduate taught PGR: Postgraduate research Notes: 1. UG/PGT ‘Funds’ for UG and PGT are standard resource minus assumed fees, plus widening access and improving retention funding. FTEs' are Home and EU HEFCE-funded, excluding non-completions. Funding for non-mainstream FTEs has been excluded. 2. PGR Figures include proportionately small amounts of transitional funding for PGR students. For the years in which the mainstream QR quality threshold differed from the PGR supervision fund threshold, the student numbers in this analysis include the larger of the eligible student totals. In the early years some notional teaching grant is included in the funding amounts.

Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the size of the informal economy in the residential repair, maintenance and improvement sector.

Mark Prisk: The Department does not hold estimates of the size of the informal economy in the residential repair, maintenance and improvement sector.
	A comparison of 2008 construction output figures with household expenditure figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) records expenditure on Home Improvements—contracted out at £24,128 million (source: ONS, Family Spending—Living Costs and Food Survey) and £22,442 million output in public and private housing repair and maintenance (source: ONS, Output in the construction industry and NISRA, Northern Ireland Construction Output Statistics). The difference of £1,685.5 million may, in part, be explained by the ONS survey not including data from legitimate small firms who are not registered for PAYE or VAT.

IBM

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many contracts his Department holds with IBM; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is.

Edward Davey: BIS have only one IBM contract for the supply of SPSS licences for statistical analysis purposes. The annual support charges for these licences is currently £18,000.

Insolvency

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of business insolvencies.

Edward Davey: Government recognise the importance of ensuring that the UK's businesses are best placed to take advantage of funding opportunities available to them. Accordingly, we want to ensure that companies are adequately investment—ready to attract finance where necessary. BusinessLink.gov offers advice on creating and presenting business plans to best effect, preparing to apply for bank funding and attracting equity investment.
	To support small businesses to address the challenges they face, we are ensuring we have a predictable tax system that rewards endeavour; enabling better access to both debt and equity finance; reducing red tape; enabling business to more easily access public procurement opportunities; encouraging business exports; and making sure that the support we provide is delivered in the most effective and efficient way possible. That is why we are revamping the Business Link website and have supported the launch of the mentoring web portal, enabling users to find the right mentoring network for them, and to develop both the demand and the supply of mentoring.

Investment: Private Sector

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to stimulate private sector investment in Coventry.

Mark Prisk: At Budget 2011, BIS published ‘The Plan for Growth’ jointly with HM Treasury, which introduced a package of measures to create a new model of economic growth, driven by private sector investment, through four overarching ambitions for the UK:
	1. To create the most competitive tax system in the G20.
	2. To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business.
	3. To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy.
	4. To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
	BIS and HMT are now working on the successful implementation of these measures, and have also announced the next stage in the Government's Growth Review.
	Coventry is covered by the Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership, which is taking forward a broad programme of work that has three key ambitions to stimulate private sector investment in the area:
	Create an environment where it is easy for businesses to start and thrive;
	Accelerate the growth of the local economy through targeted support in our key strategic sectors; and
	Tackle the skills problem by aligning supply and demand.

Job Creation: Private Sector

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of jobs created in the private sector in each quarter of the last three years.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not produced any estimates of the number of jobs created in the private sector in each quarter of the last three years.
	While the Office for National Statistics also does not publish estimates of jobs created in the private sector, they do publish estimates of total employment in the private sector, which are shown in the following table, taken from the ONS Labour Market Statistics release on 14 September 2011.
	
		
			 UK Private sector employment 
			  Million, seasonally adjusted 
			 2008  
			 June 23,513 
			 September 23,321 
			 December 23,043 
			   
			 2009  
			 March 22,790 
			 June 22,543 
			 September 22,573 
			 December 22,515 
			   
			 2010  
			 March 22,557 
			 June 22,868 
			 September 22,881 
			 December 22,973 
			   
			 2011  
			 March 23,091 
			 June 23,132

Manufacturing Industries

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change the viability of investment in the UK manufacturing sector.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 13 September 2011
	The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), complemented by frequent discussions at ministerial and official level. Economic growth is the top priority for the Government and discussions cover a wide range of issues, including how we can help UK manufacturers take advantage of the opportunities presented by the transition to a green economy and development of a package of measures for energy intensive businesses whose international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies.
	In addition UK Trade and Investment, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, and the Department for Energy and Climate Change work closely together to attract inward investment to support the development of low carbon infrastructure, for example for offshore wind manufacturing. There are also considerable opportunities for our manufacturers from developing greener production processes throughout the supply chain, so that they minimise carbon emissions and use energy and resources efficiently and effectively.

Mature Students

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will list the 30 universities or higher education institutions with the highest (a) proportion and (b) number of mature students; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The 30 English higher education institutions with the highest proportion and number of UK-domiciled undergraduate entrants who were mature (aged 21 or over) are shown in tables 1 and 2 respectively. Figures are taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and are provided for the 2009/10 academic year. Information for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012. Figures for undergraduate entrants have been provided in the table as the definition of mature differs by level of study. Mature undergraduates are defined as 21 or over, mature postgraduates are 25 or over.
	
		
			 Table 1: English higher education institutions with the highest proportion of UK-domiciled undergraduate entrants  (1)   who were mature—Academic year 2009/10 
			 Institution Percentage of entrants who were mature  (2) 
			 Birkbeck College 95.4 
			 Institute of Education 92.2 
			 Open University 89.6 
			 Thames Valley University 81.6 
			 London South Bank University 78.5 
			 University of Teesside 75.9 
			 Harper Adams University College 75.3 
			 University of Bolton 75.1 
			 University Campus Suffolk 72.3 
			 St Georges Hospital Medical School 72.2 
			 Anglia Ruskin University 71.2 
			 Edge Hill University 69.6 
			 London Metropolitan University 67.6 
			 University of Sunderland 67.4 
			 University of East London 66.0 
			 Buckinghamshire New University 65.3 
			 University of Warwick 64.7 
			 University of Greenwich 64.0 
			 Canterbury Christ Church University 62.9 
			 University of Chester 61.0 
			 University of Huddersfield 60.6 
			 City University London 60.3 
			 Staffordshire University 60.3 
			 Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln 60.0 
			 University of Bedfordshire 59.8 
		
	
	
		
			 University of Cumbria 59.7 
			 Coventry University 59.2 
			 University of Worcester 59.0 
			 University of Central Lancashire 58.7 
			 University of Northampton 58.5 
			 (1) Covers full-time and part-time undergraduates In their first year of study. (2) Covers entrants aged 21 or over. Note: Percentages fn the table are based on a HESA standard registration population and are given to one decimal place. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: English higher education institutions with the highest number of UK-domiciled undergraduate entrants  (1)   who were mature—Academic year 2009/10 
			 Institution Mature entrants  (2) 
			 Open University 89,360 
			 University of Teesside 11,245 
			 University of Central Lancashire 7,495 
			 London South Bank University 7,390 
			 Birkbeck College 7,360 
			 University of Plymouth 6,780 
			 University of Greenwich 6,485 
			 Anglia Ruskin University 6,290 
			 Thames Valley University 5,930 
			 Edge Hill University 5,890 
			 University of Warwick 5,320 
			 University of Sunderland 5,200 
			 University of Hull 5,080 
			 Birmingham City University 5,030 
			 Staffordshire University 4,950 
			 Coventry University 4,875 
			 University of Huddersfield 4,845 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 4,735 
			 University of East London 4,530 
			 University of Northumbria at Newcastle 4,380 
			 Leeds Metropolitan University 4,285 
			 University of the West of England, Bristol 4,265 
			 University of Wolverhampton 4,240 
			 London Metropolitan University 3,860 
			 Canterbury Christ Church University 3,610 
			 University of Cumbria 3,510 
			 University of Bedfordshire 3,495 
			 University of Westminster 3,315 
			 Middlesex University 3,300 
			 University of Chester 3,275 
			 (1) Covers full-time and part-time undergraduates in their first year of study. (2) Covers entrants aged 21 or over. Note: Figures in the table are based on a HESA standard registration population and are rounded up or down to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record

Medical Research Council

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what priority the Medical Research Council gives to research into neurological conditions.

David Willetts: The Medical Research Council's (MRC) strategic research priorities are outlined in its strategic plan for 2009-14, “'Research Changes Lives”. Priorities for the current spending review, including plans for delivery, are outlined in the MRC Delivery Plan 2011/12 to 2014/15.
	Both documents are available from the MRC's website at:
	www.mrc.ac.uk
	and outline MRC plans to increase funding in neuroscience, including research into mental health, neurodegeneration and neurological conditions, and addiction. The level of funding awarded in these areas will be dependent on the quality and strategic relevance of any proposals received.

Medical Research Council

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what priority the Medical Research Council gives to research into long-term conditions.

David Willetts: The Medical Research Council's (MRC) strategic research priorities are outlined in its strategic plan for 2009-14, ‘Research Changes Lives’. Under the strategic aim ‘Picking research that delivers’, two research priorities have been outlined: ‘Resilience, repair and replacement’ and ‘Living a long and healthy life’. Both priorities provide opportunities to support research relating to long-term conditions.
	Priorities for the current spending review, including plans for delivery, are outlined in the MRC Delivery Plan 2011/12 to 2014/15.
	Both documents are available from the MRC's website at:
	www.mrc.ac.uk
	The level of funding awarded in these areas will be dependent on the quality and strategic relevance of any proposals received.

Medical Research Council

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what role his Department has in setting research priorities for the Medical Research Council.

David Willetts: The Government take a view on the overall level of funding to science and research and its distribution between the research councils. These decisions are informed by external advice drawn from a wide range of expert sources including academia and industry, both nationally and internationally.
	Every Government will have some key national strategic priorities, which the research base has a role in addressing. It is appropriate for Ministers to ask the research councils to consider programmes to tackle these strategic priorities, but it is for the councils to decide on specific projects and people to fund within these priorities, free from ministerial interference.
	In line with the Haldane Principle, BIS does not interfere on decisions concerning funding of individual research proposals, which are best taken by researchers themselves through peer review. This is a matter for individual research councils based on advice from the science community. The coalition Government support this principle as vital for the protection of academic independence and excellence.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) has worked with its major stakeholder groups to review and evaluate its strategic direction. Discussions with the MRC's Council (which BIS attends), Strategy Board, its research boards and overview groups have reflected on how the MRC can be best positioned to deliver its mission. BIS also has sight of MRC's draft strategic plan before it is published.

Mobile Phones

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of progress on the development and introduction of a universal charger for mobile telephones; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer (71047) I provided today.

Mobile Phones

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of progress towards a standard charger for mobile telephones.

Mark Prisk: No recent assessment has been made by the Government. Industry has voluntarily agreed a Memorandum of Understanding covering 90% of European mobile phone sales to introduce the first standardised mobile phone charger and compatible mobile phones. The aspiration of the industry is that, by 1 January 2012, the majority of all new mobile phone models available will support a universal charging connector.

Nuclear Fusion: Research

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent research his Department has (a) undertaken and (b) evaluated into cold fusion devices.

David Willetts: At present no funding has been awarded for research into cold fusion by bodies funded by this Department.

Nuclear Power: Research

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been spent on nuclear research and development by the research councils since May 2010.

David Willetts: The total expenditure by the RCUK Energy Programme(1) for nuclear fission research and development was £6.5 million for the financial year 2010-11.
	Expenditure for the financial year 2011-12 will be available in April 2012.
	(1) Led by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the RCUK Energy Programme brings together the work in this area of EPSRC and that of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

Office for Life Sciences

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Office of Life Sciences will cover all life sciences industries, including the agricultural and industrial biotechnology sectors.

David Willetts: The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) works to create a supportive business environment for all life science industries. This covers the pharmaceutical, medical biotechnology, medical technology, industrial biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology sectors. Life sciences is an important growth area and the OLS works closely with industry sectors to understand the issues impacting on UK competitiveness and to develop evidence-based policy in order to retain current investment and secure future investment.

Overseas Students

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will list the 30 universities or higher education institutions with the highest (a) proportion and (b) number of students from overseas; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The 30 English higher education institutions with the highest proportion and number of enrolments from overseas (covers students domiciled in European Union countries other than the United Kingdom and countries outside the European Union) are shown in tables 1 and 2 respectively. Figures are taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and are provided for the 2009/10 academic year. Information for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012.
	
		
			 Table 1: English higher education institutions with the highest proportion of enrolments  (1)   from overseas. Academic year 2009/10 
			 Institution Percentage of enrolments from overseast  (2) 
			 London Business School 73.8 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science. 65.5 
			 University of Buckingham 57.0 
			 Cranfield University 49.8 
			 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 48.5 
			 Royal College of Music 43.1 
			 School of Oriental and African Studies 42.8 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 40.4 
			 Royal College of Art 40.1 
			 Royal Academy of Music 39.3 
			 University of the Arts, London 38.7 
			 University of London (Institutes and activities) 36.1 
			 University College London 35.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Guildhall School of Music and Drama 32.9 
			 City University London 31.0 
			 Aston University 30.4 
			 Royal Holloway and Bedford New College 30.3 
			 University of Surrey 30.2 
			 University of Bedfordshire 29.4 
			 Courtauld Institute of Art 29.4 
			 University of Cambridge 27.9 
			 University of Bath 27.9 
			 University of Essex 27.8 
			 University of Warwick 27.7 
			 Brunei University 27.2 
			 University College Birmingham 25.6 
			 London Metropolitan University 25.5 
			 University of Oxford 25.4 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 25.1 
			 Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance 24.9 
			 (1) Covers full-time and part-time postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments in all years of study. (2) Covers students domiciled in European Union (EU) countries other than the United Kingdom and non-EU countries. Note: Percentages in the table are based on a HESA standard registration population and are given to one decimal place. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: English higher education institutions with t  he highest number of enrolments  (1)   from overseas. Academic year 2009/10 
			 Institution Enrolment  s   from overseas  (2) 
			 University of Manchester 9,915 
			 University College London 8,290 
			 University of Nottingham 8,270 
			 University of Warwick 7,995 
			 University of Greenwich 6,555 
			 University of Leeds 6,415 
			 University of the Arts, London 6,350 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 6,255 
			 University of Oxford 6,220 
			 London Metropolitan University 6,215 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 6,010 
			 University of Birmingham 6,000 
			 University of Sheffield 5,875 
			 Kings College London 5,810 
			 University of Cambridge 5,795 
			 University of Bedfordshire 5,650 
			 University of Westminster 5,640 
			 Middlesex University 5,600 
			 University of East London 5,470 
			 City University London 5,345 
			 University of Hertfordshire 5,245 
			 University of Southampton 5,230 
			 University of Northumbria at Newcastle 4,860 
			 Kingston University 4,830 
			 Coventry University 4,765 
		
	
	
		
			 University of Surrey 4,655 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 4,480 
			 Brunei University 4,455 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 4,370 
			 University of Sunderland 4,350 
			 (1) Covers full-time and part-time postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments in all years of study. (2) Covers students domiciled in European Union (EU) countries other than the United Kingdom and non-EU countries. Note: Figures in the table are based on a HESA standard registration population and are rounded up or down to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record

Overseas Trade: Libya

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to encourage trade and investment between the UK and Libya.

Mark Prisk: Through UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) we are focusing on the key commercial needs in post-conflict Libya, supporting the return to normality in the country. UKTI staff will shortly resume work in Tripoli. In due course we will again offer the full range of UKTI services for British companies seeking to do business in Libya, including support for trade missions. UK Trade and Investment has invited key British firms to a conference on 27 September to address the reconstruction needs in Libya.

Pensions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding he plans to assign to ensuring that businesses understand the implications of proposed pension changes to be implemented in 2012.

Steve Webb: [holding answer 12 September 2011: I have been asked to reply.
	The Pensions Regulator is responsible for employer compliance for the introduction of automatic enrolment duties and is planning to spend £1.7 million this financial year and £2.6 million next year on external communications. From 2013-14 onwards the spend is estimated at around £1 million annually. In addition employers will be made aware of their duties through registration documentation that they will receive from the regulator.
	DWP will complement TPR employer communications in the run-up to October 2012, focusing on small and medium employers and spending in the region of £1.8 million to inform businesses of pension changes. This includes helping SMEs understand automatic enrolment, and enabling employers to provide information that is needed to give to their employees about automatic enrolment.
	DWP is planning to continue with proactive communications beyond October 2012 to support roll-out of automatic enrolment, and fully costed plans will be developed nearer the time.

Renewable Energy: Research

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been spent on renewable energy research and development by the research councils since May 2010.

David Willetts: The total expenditure by the RCUK Energy Programme(1) for renewable energy research and development, including hydrogen and fuel cells, was £62 million for the financial year 2010-11.
	Expenditure for the financial year 2011-12 will be available in April 2012.
	(1) Led by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the RCUK Energy Programme brings together the work in this area of EPSRC and that of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

Resolving Workplace Disputes

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department plans to publish (a) the responses to its Resolving Workplace Disputes consultation and (b) its response to the consultation.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills intends to publish the Government's response to the Resolving Workplace Disputes consultation later this autumn.
	We do not intend to publish individual responses, but we will make them publicly available.

Resource Accounting and Budgeting

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2011, how many representations he has received on the Government's estimate of the Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge in each month since December 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: holding answer 12 September 2011
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has no record of any representations received on the Government's estimate of the Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge since December 2010.

Retail Trade: Companies

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to prevent Jersey-based internet retail companies having a significant advantage over high-street shops in England; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: As part of Budget 2011 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that legislation would be introduced in Finance Bill 2011 to lower the Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR) threshold, below which goods imported from outside the EU (including the Channel Islands) are VAT-free, from £18 to £15 with effect from November 2011. The Government will also explore options with the European Commission to limit the scope of the relief so that it can no longer be exploited for a purpose for which it was not intended. The Government will revisit the level of the LVCR in Budget 2012, if discussions with the European Commission do not produce a workable solution to the problem of exploitation of the relief.

Rolling Stock: East Midlands

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of future prospects for the train building supply chain in the East Midlands;
	(2)  what support his Department (a) has and (b) plans to provide to Bombardier Transportation's supply chain in the 2011-12 financial year;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the risks to the train building supply chain in the UK since January 2011; and if he will publish any such assessments.

Mark Prisk: No such assessments have been carried out. However on 5 July the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), created an Economic Response Task Force to fully understand and mitigate the economic impact of job losses at Bombardier, its supply chain and the local communities.
	The Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), have asked their officials to work together with the sector and key delivery partners, such as UK Trade and Investment, to support the train manufacturing sector and the wider rail supply chain in securing more sustainable UK jobs through clearly identified business opportunities such as the Intercity Express programme, Crossrail and High Speed 2.
	Additionally the Department's Solution's for Business offers a range of publically funded products and services designed to help businesses to overcome key challenges and—through UK Trade and Investment—explore export opportunities.

Scientific Advisers

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department's chief scientific adviser left his post; when he expects his replacement to be appointed; and by what means he has been provided with scientific advice during the period the post has been vacant.

David Willetts: Professor Brian Collins, the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for Business, Innovation and Skills, completed his three year contract on 31 May 2011. A recruitment process for the new CSA is currently ongoing in line with the Civil Service Code and is being jointly administered with the Department for Transport (DfT). BIS expects to announce the name of the successful candidate before the end of the year.
	To provide support to the new CSA and help cover the interregnum, the Department is recruiting a new senior civil servant Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser who will be supported by a core team and provide leadership, as BIS Head of Science and Engineering Profession, to around 183 individuals in BIS who are members of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) community. BIS expects to announce the name of the successful candidate before the end of October. In the meantime, the CSA team and the Department continues to source advice from this network and from BIS's wide range of partner organisations, such as the research councils, the Intellectual Property Office, the National Measurement Office and the Technology Strategy Board to ensure that the Department meets its priorities and key deliverables. The Government Office for Science has also offered to provide backup advice, through the network of CSAs and elsewhere until the CSA is in post.

Small Businesses: Civil Disorder

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to support businesses whose earnings have been reduced as a result of the August 2011 public disorder.

Mark Prisk: The £20 million High Street Support scheme announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 11 August will support businesses affected by the recent disturbances. It will help them to get back up and running quickly, for instance if assistance is needed with business clear-up, replacement of equipment, or costs of temporary accommodation. This includes help with cash flow while insurance claims are being made, staff costs incurred while the business is affected by temporary closure, and many costs not fully covered by insurance. Local authorities will also be able to use the fund to cover the full costs of business rate hardship relief for affected business up to the end of the financial year.
	Government recognise that the impact on business will continue beyond this immediate recovery period. We continue to work together with local enterprise partnerships, local authorities and trade and business organisations to identify what longer term help is needed.

South East England Development Agency: Job Creation

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many jobs the South East England Development Agency has created since its inception.

Mark Prisk: The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) records the number of 'Jobs Created or Safeguarded' as a result of the agency's intervention. SEEDA would be unable to identify the number of ‘Jobs Created’ from the total figures available for the output 'Jobs Created or Safeguarded' without incurring disproportionate costs.
	On an annual basis SEEDA agreed output targets with my the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and a report of progress against core output targets is included within SEEDA's Annual Report and Accounts which are publicly available via its website:
	http://www.seeda.co.uk/news-and-publications/Publications
	For ease of reference we have extracted data relating to the 'Jobs Created or Safeguarded' output and provide this data in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Number of Jobs created or safeguarded  (1) 
			 2011-12 (2)254 
			 2010-11 3,489 
			 2009-10 10,138 
			 2008-09 8,057 
			 2007-08 7,569 
			 2006-07 5,667 
			 2005-06 4,240 
			 2004-05 5,121 
			 2003-04 2,970 
			 2002-03 2,307 
			 2001-02 2,341 
			 2000-01 (3)16,476.5 
			 1999-2000 (3)8,310.5 
			 1998-99 (3)5,421 
			 (1) ‘Jobs Created' are measured in full time equivalent posts (30 or more working hours per week) and the job must be considered to be permanent (i.e. have a life expectancy of over 12 months). To qualify as a ‘Job Safeguarded' the post must be a permanent, paid, full time equivalent (FTE) job which is at risk (i.e. forecast to be lost within 12 months). (2) 2011/12 figures cover period to end of June 2011. (3) On 1 April 2002 all Regional Development Agencies adopted a revised process for reporting outputs. Prior to that point SEEDA counted gross output achievement only, which included indirect outputs and those provided by other public funding.

Southern Cross Healthcare

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has provided assistance to directors of adult social services to ensure that new operators of former Southern Cross care homes are financially viable.

Edward Davey: The Department has not given assistance to the directors of adult social services. The Department has had significant involvement in advising the Department of Health on the commercial aspects of Southern Cross.

Student Numbers

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will list the 30 universities or higher education institutions with the highest (a) proportion and (b) number of UK-domiciled students; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The thirty English higher education institutions with the highest proportion and number of UK-domiciled enrolments are shown in tables 1 and 2 respectively. Figures are taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and are provided for the 2009/10 academic year. Information for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012.
	
		
			 Table 1: English higher education institutions with the highest proportion of UK-domiciled enrolments  (1)   Academic year 2009/10 
			 Institution Percentage of enrolments who were UK-domiciled 
			 Open University(2) 99.9 
			 Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln 98.8 
			 University Campus Suffolk 98.6 
		
	
	
		
			 Newman University College 98.3 
			 University of Cumbria 97.9 
			 Norwich University College of the Arts 97.8 
			 University of Chichester 97.8 
			 Edge Hill University 97.8 
			 Bath Spa University 97.4 
			 Leeds Trinity University College 97.2 
			 University of Chester 97.1 
			 University College Plymouth St Mark and St John 96.2 
			 York St John University 96.2 
			 Harper Adams University College 95.6 
			 St Georges Hospital Medical School 95.5 
			 Leeds College of Music 95.2 
			 University of Winchester 94.6 
			 University College Falmouth 94.0 
			 University of Worcester 93.9 
			 Liverpool Hope University 92.9 
			 Canterbury Christ Church University 92.8 
			 University of Plymouth 92.6 
			 University of Lincoln 92.6 
			 Birkbeck College 92.4 
			 University of Huddersfield 92.4 
			 Leeds Metropolitan University 91.8 
			 University of Teesside 91.7 
			 Roehampton University 91.0 
			 De Montfort University 91.0 
			 Writtle College 90.9 
			 Note: Percentages in the table are based on a HESA standard registration population arid are given to one decimal place. (1) Covers full-time and part-time postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments In all years of study. (2) The majority of Open University students domiciled outside the UK are recorded on the HESA Aggregate Overseas Return rather than the student record as they are distance learners who remain in their home country and do not come to the UK to study. The percentages shown in this table are based on student record figures only and exclude the Aggregate Overseas Return. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: English higher education institutions with the highest number of UK-domiciled enrolments  (1)   Academic year 2009/10 
			 Institution UK-domiciled enrolments 
			 Open University 209,415 
			 Manchester Metropolitan University 32,260 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 31,045 
			 University of Manchester 30,485 
			 University of Plymouth 29,820 
			 University of the West of England, Bristol 29,715 
			 University of Central Lancashire 28,630 
			 University of Leeds 27,165 
			 University of Northumbria at Newcastle 26,565 
			 University of Teesside 26,255 
			 University of Nottingham 25,850 
			 Leeds Metropolitan University 25,580 
		
	
	
		
			 Edge Hill University 24,770 
			 University of Birmingham 24,130 
			 Nottingham Trent University 23,900 
			 Liverpool John Moores University 22,585 
			 University of Hertfordshire 22,405 
			 Kingston University 22,250 
			 University of Greenwich 22,250 
			 London South Bank University 22,225 
			 Birmingham City University 22,035 
			 University of East London 21,465 
			 University of Warwick 20,875 
			 University of Huddersfield 20,450 
			 De Montfort University 20,430 
			 University of Sheffield 20,095 
			 University of Hull 19,495 
			 University of Wolverhampton 19,325 
			 University of Portsmouth 19,020 
			 Staffordshire University 18,775 
			 Note: Figures in the table are based on a HESA standard registration population and are rounded up or down to the nearest five. (1) Covers full-time and part-time postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments in all years of study. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record

Students: Loans

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of people taking out student loans he estimates will repay (a) the whole amount and (b) a partial amount.

David Willetts: We currently estimate that of the new students starting courses from September 2012 onwards, around 60% of those taking student loans will repay the balance of the loan in full, while around 40% will have some of their loan written off. Loans are written off 30 years after the borrower becomes liable to repay or on the death or permanent disability of the borrower.
	These figures are consistent with our estimate that the resource accounting and budgeting charge for the loans—representing the cost of both write-offs and interest subsidies—will be around 30% of the face value of loans issued.
	All of the above estimates are for full time English students at UK institutions and full time EU students at English institutions.

Students: Loans

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the criteria used by the Student Loans Company to determine whether a student seeking means-tested financial support is an independent student.

David Willetts: The Student Loans Company uses criteria set out in the Education (Student Support) Regulations to determine whether a student seeking means-tested financial support is an independent student. These regulations are reviewed on an annual basis, and, following the most recent review the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 were laid before Parliament on 11 August 2011. These regulations did not make any changes to the criteria to be used by the Student Loans Company in determining whether a student seeking means-tested financial support is an independent student or not.

Technology: Greater London

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much expenditure his Department incurred in developing the Tech City website.

Mark Prisk: Tech City is home to one of the largest concentrations of digital technology companies in Europe. The website is an integral element in the overall strategy to promote Tech City to investors, entrepreneurs and establish businesses. The costs incurred for the website to 31 August are estimated at £53,351 comprising £37,000 for website development, £9,595 for content, and £6,756 for security and penetration testing.

Thameslink: Siemens

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what work the Economic Response Task Force has undertaken as a result of the award of the Thameslink contract to Siemens.

Mark Prisk: The Economic Task Force, announced on 5 July, has begun work by focusing on support for the affected work force. It is working with Job Centre Plus and the Skills Funding Agency to deliver Rapid Response Services which aim to secure new jobs or training for those at risk of redundancy.
	The task force has also begun work with partners to ensure that impacts on supply chain companies are mitigated. This work is being led by the Chamber of Commerce and the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum.

UK Trade and Investment

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to record the originating location of inquiries made to UK Trade and Investment.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) records location information for service deliveries and significant interactions with businesses on a customer relationship management system. UKTI has no plans to record the location of all telephone inquiries.

Universities

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people resident in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency applied to enter university in each of the last five academic years; how many such applicants were successful; and what proportion of these were from disadvantaged backgrounds.

David Willetts: The information is in the following table and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
	Applicants who were not accepted for entry will include: individuals who did not receive any offer; individuals who received an offer (conditional or unconditional) but decided not to go to university; individuals who received a conditional offer and failed to meet the specific conditions (eg they did not achieve certain grades); and individuals who decided to withdraw from the UCAS system.
	
		
			 Applicants and accepted applicants domiciled in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS, by area background, years of entry 2006 to 2010 
			  Applicants Percentage of total Accepted applicants Percentage of total 
			 2006     
			 Disadvantaged(1) 492 86 365 86 
			 Other 79 14 61 14 
			 Total 571 100 426 100 
			      
			 2007     
			 Disadvantaged(1) 519 88 388 88 
			 Other 72 12 53 12 
			 Total 591 100 441 100 
			      
			 2008     
			 Disadvantaged(1) 605 86 468 86 
			 Other 97 14 76 14 
			 Total 702 100 544 100 
			      
			 2009     
			 Disadvantaged(1) 631 84 480 85 
			 Other 120 16 88 15 
			 Total 751 100 568 100 
			      
			 2010     
			 Disadvantaged(1) 796 86 556 85 
			 Other 126 14 96 15 
			 Total 922 100 652 100 
			 (1) Derived from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)'s POLAR2 measure. For the purposes of their funding allocations HEFCE treat entrants from the most disadvantaged 40% of neighbourhoods as 'disadvantaged' http://www.hefce.ac.uk/widen/fund HEFCE uses two different groupings of areas to define disadvantage: one based on the participation rates of young (19 and under) people in HE (which is used by HEFCE when looking at young full-time entrants); and one based on the proportion of adults who hold HE qualifications (which is used by HEFCE when looking at part-time and mature full-time entrants). Because this table includes applicants and accepted applicants of all ages, disadvantage is defined by quintiles 1 and 2 of the HE qualified adults measure. Source: UCAS

Veterinary Medicine: Education

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the amount of time allocated to teaching related to exotic animals in Government accredited veterinary schools in comparison to other EU member states.

David Willetts: holding answer 8 September 2011
	I can confirm that no assessment has been made of the time allocated to teaching related to exotic animals in veterinary schools in comparison with other EU member states.
	Higher Education veterinary schools are independent autonomous bodies whose courses will reflect the requirements of the relevant professional body that provides accreditation.